Communication

'Money-only' Cases, Appointment of Mediators, Business, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conventional wisdom, Due Process, Family Mediation, insider and outsider mediators, mediation as a career, mediation traditions, Skills, Stories

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

Not so long ago I was a claiming party as part of a group of plaintiffs in the stead of my elderly parents in a multiparty, multimillion dollar mediation. Now, I mediate around 120 mediations every year as a commercial mediator here in New Zealand so it was with a mix of personal apprehension and professional curiosity…

Communication, General, Improvisation, Language, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Neuroscience, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

[Author’s Warning: This entry involves references to and discussions about the system of Cartesian Coordinates and how it might assist mediators in reality testing and reframing. Readers with a Math Phobia are advised to proceed with cautious abandonment.] [Author’s postscript: As I finish writing this, it becomes increasingly clear to me that some readers may…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, Communication, General, Language, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /2 Comments

It is trite that one of key tasks of a mediator is to sort out what Patton, Stone and Heen in their book “Difficult Conversations” refer to as the “What Happened” conversation. Although they write about this and two other conversations in the context of negotiation, their insights are pertinent to mediators as well. One…

Communication, Developing the Field, Improvisation, Language, Mediation Practice, Skills

(University of Strathclyde)/ /6 Comments

I’m not often drawn to practical tips. I once discovered that I am an “activist” learner. This apparently means that I learn best when “thrown in at the deep end” and less well when “absorbing and understanding data” (see http://archive.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=152477 for a description of learning styles and http://www.peterhoney.com for a self-evaluation test). It perhaps explains…

Commercial Mediation, Communication, conlfict coaching, Creativity, Future of mediation, General, Impasse, Improvisation, Instinct, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, Mentoring, Tactics, Understanding mediation

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /6 Comments

Sometimes, I look around at mediation events at a sea of grey hair (mine included!). Where, I wonder, are those to whom we are handing this torch? And more importantly, what do they think? So as the dust settled on last month’s ICC mediation competition in Paris, I took the chance to capture some of…

Communication, Conventional wisdom, Developing the Field, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Skills, Training, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

Interesting ripples on the interweb about mediator ‘styles’ – (see the LinkedIn group ‘ADR, Conflict Resolution and Mediation Exchange’). One discussion thread was prompted by a nice ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ question: can a mediator have any style or does the style vary from situation to situation? The discussion has ranged from styles to models, with…

Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, General, Language, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment

I read a long time ago that lessons for life can be found everywhere as long as we look for them. As with many of these quotes that we read, my response was to nod sagaciously, file it away for future reference and then forget all about it. I was driving the other day, about…

Clients, Communication, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Intuition, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Planning, Skills

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

In this posting I want to reflect on how, as a mediator, I’ve learnt much from the related but independent conflict management process, called conflict coaching. Before I get ahead of myself, however, let me start by offering an explanation of conflict coaching. Conflict coaching is a service provided by a conflict specialist to a…