“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” — Calvin Coolidge I start this blog with this quote because the Christmas season tends to change our perspective [Read More]
Like many mediators, I usually serve some food during a mediation (along with water, coffee, tea etc.). Many of the participants are surprised and pleased when they come into the conference room and are greeted by these goodies. They probably think I am simply being hospitable. I am being more [Read More]
Recently, my husband handed me an article from the Washington Post which he saw while in D. C. on a business trip. It discusses implicit bias in the Emergency Room (ER) and thus, has nothing to do with mediation but everything to do with the biases we bring to everyday [Read More]
One of the last topics I discussed in my ADR Ethics class this semester was mediating multiculturally. In her book, Mediation Ethics: Cases and Commentaries (Jossey-Bass 2011), Ellen Waldman quotes a definition of culture as “the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society [Read More]
In any given mediation, I am often asked whether I think the other party is telling the “truth”, can she be “trusted” ? et cetera. It is a hard question to answer, and I prefer to be positive and optimistic in my response by stating that I have no reason [Read More]
In my mediations, I make it a point to put out some Danish or cookies and fruit in each of the conference rooms (as well as coffee and water.) I do this partially to help the parties maintain their blood sugar levels as grumpy people do not make good negotiators [Read More]
Long ago, I learned that outside events can affect a person’s mood at mediation. One example is traffic- fighting traffic to get to a mediation on time will affect the negotiation process. For this reason, I try to schedule mediations after rush hour so at least the parties are not [Read More]
One cardinal rule of negotiation is that one should not bid against herself. That is, negotiation should be a two-way conversation in which party A makes an offer to which party B responds with a counter offer to which party A responds with a new offer and so on. But [Read More]
