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Argument, Causes of Conflict, Cooperation, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dialogue, Future of mediation, Language, Mediation Practice, Philosophy, Reflective Practice, Scotland, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /3 Comments

The former British politician (and leadership contender when the Conservative Party was choosing Boris Johnson), Rory Stewart, is making a mark as an even more independent thinker than he was in the British Parliament. Recently, he hosted a three-part series on BBC Radio 4 entitled A Long History of Argument. It is worth listening to…

Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, Cooperation, Creativity, Dialogue, Economics, Interests, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Skills, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop led by William Ury in which small teams of participants were invited to apply his BB3 framework to challenging situations they were confronting. BB3 brings together a number of ideas and approaches that Ury has contributed to the field of mediation and negotiation over…

Australia, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Mediation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, Mediation wisdom, Online Mediation, Uncategorized

(Strategic Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

Online processes in all professions soared during Covid. The legal profession was transformed. A multitude of online mediation platforms miraculously appeared and mediators barely skipped a beat. Benefits emerged – especially in a geographically vast continent like Australia – where advocates and their clients in distant locations saved significant costs in time, travelling expenses and…

Brazil, Conflict, Cooperation, Dialogue, Football, Uncategorized

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /2 Comments

Communication is one of the most important pillars of human relationships. Connections established through communication make life in society possible and it explains why so many different types of language have been developed and improved since the early dawn of civilization. However, while it unites us, communication can also divide us, as most of us…

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)/ /8 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…

Commercial Mediation, Community Mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Family Mediation, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mindset, Negotiation, Stages of mediation, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /14 Comments
Lawyer making opening statement in mediation

“The world is made, not found.” (W Barnet Pearce) I had been a mediator for about 10 years before I heard parties’ initial words described as their “opening statement.” This may surprise some readers, though probably not if they began, like me, in family mediation, nor community or workplace. Other descriptions are available, as our…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, crisis negotiatons, International Mediation, peace negotiations, Russia, Ukraine, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

A disaster has unfolded in Ukraine and beyond in the month and a half since Russia invaded. Thousands of dead and injured, reports of horrific brutality, millions of refugees and towns and cities reduced to rubble. Russia is also suffering from economic sanctions, the loss of many of its brightest and best and a pariah…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, Dispute Resolution, Ethics, Mediation, Mediation and Society, Uncategorized

(Hoffmann Eitle )/ /3 Comments

As soon as the news of the Ukrainian invasion emerged in late February, I felt the urgent need to address in writing what had been unthinkable only days earlier but which has now changed Europe for good. At the same time, I felt a massive sense of despair and helplessness which rendered me mute. Weeks…

Conflict, Europe, Governments/Public Sector, Negotiation, peace negotiations, Russia, Ukraine, Uncategorized, Violence

(FORARB/Charles University)/ /4 Comments

It was Thursday, February 24th, 2022. From the morning, I had been mediating a dispute between a grandfather and two of his granddaughters. Then, during the break, I switched on my phone and read the news. Very shocking news. As a person that has spent all his professional life bringing peace and understanding to the…

Brazil, Causes of Conflict, Conflict, Cooperation, Dialogue, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Uncategorized

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

According to the Wikipedia, “Make love, not war” is an anti-war slogan commonly associated with the American counterculture of the 1960s. It was used primarily by those who were opposed to the Vietnam War, but it has been invoked in other anti-war contexts around the world since then. The part of the slogan – “make…