A good friend emailed me the other day asking if I had written anything recently on mediation confidentiality. I decided to call her in response, wondering if I had missed any news. It turned out that she had a student who questioned the value and effectiveness of confidentiality in mediation. [Read More]
In previous posts, I have discussed the benefits of small talk. It is crucial to building trust and rapport at the start of any mediation. It is crucial for the mediator to get the parties to “like” her which is done through small talk. If the parties do not “like” [Read More]
We all love a delightful story. And stories are important in negotiating and resolving disputes. This point was eloquently made by Dr. Joshua N. Weiss in Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, “The Sunday Minute” (April 17, 2022): At their best, stories create a sense of connection, build trust, allow the listener [Read More]
Searching for some inspiration for my next blog post, I came across an article in The Conversation entitled, “How the presence of pets builds trust among people”. Noting that 90 million American households have at least one pet, the author Megan Mueller notes that “… research shows our pets can [Read More]
In recent blogs, I have discussed the importance of trust, rapport and reciprocity in resolving disputes. Something happened recently that highlights the importance of trust and rapport. Surprisingly, it has to do with one of my dogs- Buddy. Buddy is a rescue which we adopted when he was six years [Read More]
The last mediation I conducted in 2021 did not result in a resolution. There were a number of reasons why which I could not quite put my finger on. But over the holidays I read some books on negotiation which helped to crystallize my thinking. One of the books, Bargaining [Read More]
The end of the semester is drawing near in my online employment mediation dispute class. The theme of the last discussion board is reflective: what three things has each student learned from or skills developed or improved upon in this course. There is a saying to the effect that as [Read More]
One of the most important things a mediator must do- if not the most important- is to build trust and rapport with the parties. In pre-Covid days, this was a bit easier; the mediator could sit face to face with each party and schmooze. Now, we are reduced to being [Read More]
