Apology, Causes of Conflict, Communication, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Guitar, Humorous Pieces, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Scotland, Tips, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

‘Tis the season to be merry. And indulgent. ‘Tis also the season when favourite songs are compiled by well-meaning souls into apparently themed collections. In the UK, we have a long-running radio show called “Desert Island Discs” in which celebrities and others select their favourite pieces of music as they reminisce about their lives. The…

ADR, Communication, Conflict, Decision making, Humorous Pieces, Neuroscience, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Online Mediation, Skills, Tactics, Tips, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /5 Comments

To the extent that a mediator’s job involves listening to people complain and engage in negative behaviour, mediators face a serious mental health hazard. Research shows that listening to ongoing negativity impairs the brain function of the listener. Yes! Listening can be bad for you if you have a whinging party in the room, and…

Causes of Conflict, Communication, General, Negotiation

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“Yes we speak of things that matter With words that must be said” [Paul Simon, “Dangling Conversation”] I’m posting this a litle earlier than usual, but we all know of the distractions that will only be compounded in the coming week. For about ten years, before we moved to Singapore, our Thursday morning breakfast conversations…

ADR, Conflict, Dispute Resolution, Global Pound Conference Series 2016-17, History of mediation, International Mediation, mediation as a career, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mentoring, Reform, Young Mediators

(Murray & Duncan)/ /Leave a comment
Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)

The last day of the year is referred to, in Scotland, as Hogmanay. Hogmanay has for centuries, been a cause for celebration. Many traditions are associated with it, though the ubiquitous singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, is fairly recent, having been written by Robert Burns in 1788. One of the more important customs is the…

Conflict, Developing the Field, Family Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation process, mediation traditions, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

“Patients don’t expect doctors to be perfect. They do expect them to strive for perfection by opening up their work to scrutiny” Atul Gawande, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 6/12/15. A bit of a treat for me last week, when four of my favourite academics came to Edinburgh. They were keynotes at Mediate Scotland…

Cognitive Bias, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Creativity, Negotiation, Scotland

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Negotiating in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is an experience to relish. I’ve recently returned from three days in that wonderful city, helping lawyers, judges and mediators to expand the use of mediation in commercial disputes, inspired by the excellent work there led by Asiyan Suleymanoglu and her colleagues. Working with one of the pioneers of mediation…

Causes of Conflict, Developing the Field, Environmental Mediation, France, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Language, Mediation Practice

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This comment has its origins in two events, separated by distance and utterly different in origin and impact, yet still linked by a common theme. This is also a partial continuation of the conversation started by Martin Svatos in the preceding entry: http://kluwermediationblog.com/2015/11/22/je-suis-paris-do-the-mediators-have-right-to-be-xenophobic/ One event, front and centre in our media and in the lives…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, Cognitive Bias, Conflict, Europe, Football, Language, memory, Middle East

(FORARB/Charles University)/ /1 Comment

One week after the terrorists’ assaults in Paris, one may have witnessed a whole scale of different responds to this terrible tragedy: From the manifestation of solidarity and fraternity to the expression of hatred and collective responsibility judgements. The later is alerting, especially when you can see it among the dispute resolution professionals. Do mediators…