Developing the Field, Intuition, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Online Mediation, Practical Challenges for Mediators, The role of the mediator, Tips, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /10 Comments
The importance of gaze

‘Because you’re distant, forgive me for being a little bit bossy’ (Paddy O’Connell, BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House) After plying their trade for a while mediators (and broadcasters) develop a persona, not so much bolted on as inhabited. Once in ‘the chair,’ voice, posture and gestures all coalesce to support their purpose and, with minimal…

Appointment of Mediators, Co-mediation, Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Discrimination, Experience, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Leadership, Mediation and Society, mediation as a career, Mentoring, Personal Development, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Uncategorized, Young Mediators

(University of Strathclyde)/ /3 Comments
Do Black Lives Matter

“Racially discriminatory behavior may be reduced more effectively when racial issues are made salient rather than ignored or obscured.” (1) This week I’ve been thinking about white privilege. Ok, my white privilege. Like much of the planet I was horrified by the casual, almost routine asphyxiation of George Floyd. I wasn’t surprised by protest and…

COVID-19, Public Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments
Woman wearing facemask

‘He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars’ (William Blake, Jerusalem) The coronavirus pandemic deals its cards very unevenly. Some individuals get it lightly, if at all, and even countries seem to be spared, at least for now. For others it’s a catastrophe. Here in the UK we watch, helpless,…

Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), History of mediation, Legal Issues, Mediation Outcomes, mediation process, Promoting Mediation, Research, Scotland, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments
Stop apologising

(This blog is adapted from a longer version published by Prof John Lande as part of Theories of Change for the Dispute Resolution Movement: Actionable Ideas to Revitalize Our Movement. The Theory of Change symposium asked mediators and scholars to think big about their dreams and visions for the future, and was recently published on…

Below the line, Business, Causes of Conflict, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Developing the Field, Economics, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Reflective Practice, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment
money

Twice today I’ve found myself responding to mediator reflections in these terms: the money’s not about the money. Both cases involved financial negotiation, even haggling, but that’s deceptive. The key to settlement lay not in the realm of calculation and rationality but in the more opaque social world of face, punishment, justice and emotion. In…

Developing the Field, Ethics, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Language, Mediation and Society, mediation as a career, mediation process, Philosophy, Reflective Practice, Scotland, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /4 Comments
Values drive practice

(I first wrote about mediation’s values 12 years ago at the tail end of a Masters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies.(1) Two years of study had convinced me that it is our values, rather than the techniques we learn, that tell us what to do and say when when mediating. The intervening years haven’t…

Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Domestic Courts, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mandatory mediation, Mediation Act, Mediation Institutions and Rules, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Opt-Out, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

To paraphrase a worldwide cliché, you wait decades for a Mediation Act and two come along at once. On this typically dreich Scottish summer afternoon I find myself in the surprising position of examining two distinct proposals for mediation legislation. Why surprising? This blog has carried news of a succession of mediation acts in countries…

ADR, Conventional wisdom, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Domestic Courts, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legal Issues, Litigation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Stories, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment
Formality and informality

Place matters It’s good to see authors on this blog referencing academic research – see Rick Weiler’s recent post on decision-making. Similarly, a new chapter by Singapore judicial mediator Dorcas Quek Anderson (1) has got me thinking about the old chestnut of formality and informality. Anderson considers the impact on people and processes of the…

Clients, Developing the Field, Experience, Feedback, Language, mediation as a career, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mediation Users/Clients, Personal Development, Research, Skills, Success in mediation, The role of the mediator, Training, Uncategorized, user perspectives

(University of Strathclyde)/ /4 Comments
good mediation seen through a client's lens

“Like poets, but with less time” The Deep End Getting to grips with mediation can leave students and trainees overwhelmed. That favourite training tool, the roleplay, throws most in at the deep end. The sudden immersion forces them to speak, listen and observe while trying to remember models and skills plus a sea of reading…