Let’s Be SVL focuses on spreading memorable, repeatable messages on college campuses that strengthen civil discourse.
SVL, pronounced like civil, represents how to have successful conversations across the political spectrum: share Stories, relate to others’ Values, and closely Listen.
Let’s Be SVL’s messaging also seeks to address the misperceptions many students have of one another that reduce interest in political conversations and engagement.
Piloted at Vanderbilt University during the fall 2025 semester, Let’s Be SVL is testing campus-wide messaging campaigns, including flyers, Instagram content, and announcements from various campus leaders.
Piloted at Vanderbilt University during the fall 2025 semester, Let’s Be SVL is testing campus-wide messaging campaigns, including flyers, Instagram content, and announcements from various campus leaders.
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In the wake of the 2024 election and the events of October 7th, the need for constructive political dialogue at institutions of higher education – and across our country – has never been greater. Students need skills and confidence to engage in productive cross-partisan and cross-ideological conversations.
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More Like US applauds the efforts of the many colleges and universities that have introduced trainings, events, and other opportunities for civil discourse on their campuses.
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Yet much more remains to be done. Students involved in mandatory programs related to civil discourse begin to forget suggestions without subsequent reminders. Opt-in programs tend to only attract students already enthusiastic about dialogue, leaving others unprepared and unfamiliar. And few programs directly address the concerns or anxiety some students feel that discussions across real and perceived differences will be unproductive, if not dangerous.
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To address each of these issues, Let’s Be SVL aims to reach
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Students who benefited from mandatory dialogue programs, but need basic reminders throughout their college experience
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Students with no or limited experience with civil discourse
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Students who have negative misperceptions of their peers across the political spectrum and see limited value in engaging with them
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The SVL (pronounced the “civil”) framework provides people with a simple set of tools to talk about politics: share Stories, relate to their conversation partner’s Values, and closely Listen.
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First, tell STORIES rather than drowning others with facts. While facts and evidence can be persuasive rhetorical tools, we can more effectively communicate what matters to us and create interpersonal connections through storytelling. Conversation partners can avoid arguments over the validity of data points. Focusing on stories fosters interpersonal understanding, enabling us to see how other’s experiences have driven them to their conclusions.
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Second, relate to the VALUES others care about. Make arguments that resonate with our conversation partner, rather than arguments that only make sense to us. In this way, we can both respect others’ deep-seated beliefs and more effectively appeal to them.
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Lastly, closely LISTEN to what others have to say. Listening closely to others both increases open-mindedness and develops mutual understanding among conversation partners. Listening also helps us tell stories that better resonate with our conversation partners and deepen our understanding of the values they hold.
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One of the leaders of the field to improve the US political environment, Stanford sociologist Dr. Robb Willer, first introduced the ideas behind this framework. More Like US then packaged these ideas into the easy-to-remember mnemonic, SVL.
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Let’s Be SVL also includes messaging that reduces hesitancy to engage in civil discourse. According to the 2025 Connection Opportunity report from More in Common, “intergroup anxiety” was the most important factor affecting interest in connecting across assumed political differences. More intergroup anxiety leads to less interest in connecting.
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Yet much intergroup anxiety is based on overly negative misperceptions of those across the political spectrum, sometimes called the “Perception Gap.” As part of Let’s Be SVL, More Like US highlights the “3C’s” that directly reduce intergroup anxiety, and thus combat hesitancy to engage. We show that those across the political spectrum are surprisingly more Civil and Curious about each other, and have more in Common than we think.
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CIVIL: Research from More in Common shows that only 12% of Republicans and Democrats think it is “fine to treat those in the other political party with hostility during political conversations.” Yet both Republicans and Democrats wrongly assume that more than 40% of those in the other political party think that acting with hostility during this situation is fine, and many subsequently avoid cross-partisan conversation.
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CURIOUS: Academic research finds that Americans have a great deal of interest in learning about a disagreeing conversation partner’s perspective. However, that research shows Americans wrongly assume that a disagreeing conversation partner has much less interest in learning about their perspective. Fewer Americans thus believe that sharing their own perspective would be productive.
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More in COMMON: As shown on More Like US’s resources page, a wealth of research has shown that Americans across the political spectrum are more similar in their viewpoints than believed. Various political typologies show that ~85% of Americans are somewhere in the middle, even if the extremes are often the loudest. The Similarity Hub from More Like US and AllSides is the clearest example of surprising similarity across the political spectrum, with hundreds of individual survey points showing viewpoint overlaps between Americans who identify as Republicans and Democrats, across >20 topics, including all those considered hot-button. The Similarity Hypothesis finds that people “tend to be drawn towards those who are similar to ourselves,” with more commonalities. In contrast, many Americans will be hesitant to engage in conversations they wrongly assume are basically hopeless, with little or no opportunity for common ground.
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Fall 2025 marks the launch of Let’s Be SVL on Vanderbilt University’s campus.
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Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, flyers showing SVL and the 3C’s (in blue, purple, and red) frameworks will be distributed on campus, digital versions of these resources will be posted on Instagram and other social media platforms, and campus leaders will assist in spreading these messages. More Like US thanks the Riley’s Way Foundation for its support of Vanderbilt student Jason Vadnos, who leads the Vanderbilt pilot.
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More Like US intends for Vanderbilt to be only the first campus of many. More Like US seeks to spread Let’s Be SVL and the SVL framework across many institutions, cultivating a new generation of active citizens. College students, faculty, staff, or others in the higher education space can email info@morelikeus.org for additional information about how to best deploy Let’s Be SVL.
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