Communication

Accreditation, ADR, Communication, Dispute Resolution, Fear, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Instinct, Mentoring, Social intelligence, Success in mediation, Young Mediators

(Lawyer, Mediator and Trainer in Conflict Resolution)/ /Leave a comment
Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)

I was twenty-five years old when I joined Young Mediators’ Initiative (YMI) and first participated at the Andalusian System for Labour Conflict Resolution (S.E.R.C.L.A) as an official mediator. At SERCLA, we normally have an average of ten people at the mediation table. Sometimes, not only am I by far the youngest person in the mediation…

ADR, Book Review, Business, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Cognitive Bias, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Decision making, Developing the Field, Future of mediation, General, Improvisation, Language, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Neuroscience, Policy, Scotland, Skills, Stories, Success in mediation, Tips, Training, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

It’s funny how one thing leads to another. Regular Kluwer blogger Ian Macduff posted a great blog earlier this week on the importance of asking questions. That reminded me that I had intended to get hold of a book by Edgar Schein entitled “Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling”. So, I…

Communication, conlfict coaching, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Social intelligence

/ /1 Comment

This blog entry arises not so much from any mediation, but from one aspect of regular social encounters that is all too normal a part of negotiation and mediation. As the title suggests, it’s about the role of inquiry, asking questions – not merely gathering information, but going beyond that in the expression of interest…

Communication, Conciliation, Conflict, crisis negotiatons, Decision making, Dispute Resolution, Neutrality, Not-for-Profit Organizations (NGO), peace negotiations, Skills, Transformation, Young Mediators

(Paul Whittle Commercial Mediation)/ /Leave a comment
Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)

Abraham path was the idea of William Ury and his Harvard colleagues. The idea was to follow in the footsteps of Abraham which is the origin story of the Middle East. The origin story can be phrased: ‘4,000 years ago, a man and his family walked across the Middle East, and the world has never…

Bias, Cognitive Bias, Communication, General, mediation as a career, Memory and Illusions, Mentoring, Perception, Skills, Social Media, Uncategorized, Young Mediators

(Mediator & peace seeker)/ /Leave a comment
Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you may have seen this recent meme in late February that got the internet buzzing with debate. A badly lit photo of a dress spread like wildfire with some people seeing it as white and gold, while others as black and blue. If you haven’t seen it,…

Communication, Developing the Field, Mediation Practice

/ /Leave a comment

“Instructions for living a life.  Pay attention.  Be astonished.  Tell about it.”  Mary Oliver, American poet “Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought…It implies withdrawal from some things in order…

Business, Causes of Conflict, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conflict, Costs in Mediation, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, General, Improvisation, Interests, Joint Sessions, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Scotland, Skills, Sport, Stories, Success in mediation, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /6 Comments

As 2014 comes to an end, it is good to reflect. How privileged many of us are. I often remark to others that my “job” is better than “real work”. What do I mean when I say that? As mediators, we have an extraordinary window through which we view life, other people and what happens…

ADR, Business, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Deal Mediation, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Evaluative Mediation, Impasse, Improvisation, Lawyers, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Negotiation, Neutrality, Scotland, Skills, Stages of mediation, Stories, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

I have never been a great fan of mediator’s proposals. I took the view that the mediator’s job, done well, was to help the parties to come to a solution themselves. Party autonomy and all that. Achieving a satisfactory outcome, I thought, shouldn’t require a specific suggestion by the mediator. I have changed my view….

Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Decision making, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Europe, Future of mediation, General, Governments/Public Sector, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Improvisation, Interests, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Negotiation, Neuroscience, peace negotiations, Policy, Public Policy, Reform, Scotland, Skills, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

“The key to doing well lies not in overcoming others, but in eliciting their co-operation.” Robert Axelrod “Although negotiation takes place every day, it is not easy to do well. Standard strategies for negotiation often leave people dissatisfied, worn out or alienated…..” Roger Fisher and William Ury For probably the final time, I am writing…

Communication, Dispute Resolution, Intuition, Skills

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /1 Comment

I must confess that I am getting addicted to the TV series “Lie to Me”. Dr. Cal Lightman, the series protagonist, and his assistant, Dr. Gillian Foster, are specialists in fraud detection through a rather unconventional method: facial expression and body language analysis. Dr. Lightman’s character is based on the well known psychologist Paul Ekman,…