Tips

Creativity, Decision making, Humorous Pieces, Improvisation, Instinct, Interests, Intuition, Mediation Outcomes, mediation process, Negotiation, Skills, Tips

(Strategic Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

  As long ago as 1981, in the very first edition of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher and William Ury proposed the following novel negotiation method:   separate the people from the problem focus on interests, not positions invent options for mutual gain and insist on using objective criteria. Later…

Argument, Below the line, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Decision making, Dialogue, Experience, Framing, General, Joint Sessions, lawyers in mediation, mediation process, Mediators’ Conduct, Mistakes, Perception, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Tips, Uncategorized

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /6 Comments

Offers in mediation are too often approached with all the coyness of gauche teenagers at a school dance (acknowledging that this metaphor may reveal too much about my own youth!). It need not be like this. Here are some thoughts to ease the pain. Going first is not weakness. All mediations require offers to be…

Clients, Commercial Mediation, Decision making, Experience, Framing, Impasse, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills, Tactics, Tips, Uncategorized, Values and attributes of a mediator

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment
Negotiators in a mediation

It’s been a while since I wrote about practical tips for mediators. Yet when I ask people what they want from training or teaching the commonest answer is… practical tips. I offer some below on working with parties who take cold feet just as resolution is approaching. I was recently asked to speak with lawyers…

Brexit, Causes of Conflict, Conflict, Europe, Negotiation, Tips, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /4 Comments

“I think the EU will need to move significantly on both those key points because they’re points of principle.” (Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, speaking on the BBC this morning) The Brexit negotiation, despite its dizzying stakes, has triggered a fair amount of wry humour. I’ve poked gentle fun at the protagonists myself: Brexit Irritators:…

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…

Experience, Flexibility, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Neutrality, Philosophy, Skills, The role of the mediator, Tips, Understanding mediation

(Kwok, Ng & Chan, Solicitors & Notaries)/ /Leave a comment

I was first introduced to Kluwer Mediation Blog by Professor Joel Lee of the National University of Singapore when he shared “A Mediator’s Prayer” in his July 2014 blog entry. Joel is no stranger here. He is not only a prominent mediator but also a Chinese martial arts master. Joel practises and teaches Wing Chun –…

ADR, Decision making, Efficiency, Feedback, Future of mediation, General, Mediation as a business, mediation as a career, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mentoring, Mistakes, Social intelligence, Tips

(FORARB/Charles University)/ /Leave a comment

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill Improving Habit of Thinking The popular quote attributed to the former British prime minister is easily adaptable to mediation. The optimistic mediator considers the mediated settlement probable and helps the parties by spreading the friendly and promising…

Appointment of Mediators, Creativity, Developing the Field, Ethics, Evaluative Mediation, Fear, insider and outsider mediators, Intuition, mediation models, Mediation Outcomes, Mediators’ Conduct, omnipartiality in mediation, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Online Mediation, Perception, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Research, Skills, Success in mediation, Tactics, The role of the mediator, Tips, user perspectives

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /4 Comments

“Hi, I’m Rick. I’m your mediator for today. I can’t decide what happens in this dumb dispute or how you resolve issues. My job is just to help people who are incapable of resolving conflict, like yourselves, find areas that you can agree on. That means I get to control what appears in the messages,…

Cohen, Communication, Dialogue, ICC Mediation Competition, Language, Tips

(NZ Centre for ICT Law & School of Law, Auckland University)/ /2 Comments

In the weeks leading up to and following the International Chamber of Commerce’s annual commercial mediation competition, these blog pages typically see wise counsel from experienced mediators for arriving student teams, and reflections from those professionals who have just spent the week mediating, judging and conversing with those student teams. See, for example, recent posts…

Appointment of Mediators, Experience, Legal Issues, Litigation, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediator liability, Mediators’ Conduct, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, Settlement Agreements, The role of the mediator, Tips, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Strategic Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

Although infrequent, court cases against mediators are illuminating, helping us avoid being dragged into court ourselves. Here’s an example In Tapoohi v Lewenberg & Ors (No 2) [2003] VSC 410, the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, considered it arguable that a mediator owes a duty of care to the disputants. The mediated dispute This was…