WHY LEARN MEDIATION SKILLS?

Over the years it has been my privilege to instruct hundreds of people on mediation skills. This past week I started yet another class.  I’m always interested in why people enroll in a class to learn how to be a mediator. At the beginning of the first session I ask participants what their objectives for the class are. Rarely does anyone say that their objective is to become a mediator for pay.

Instead, the commonly expressed objectives are:

--From law school students and attorneys: To learn more about alternatives to litigation.

--From working professionals: To explore ways to utilize mediation in their profession. (For example, in a recent class, a contingent from a social service unit were there to explore ways of using mediation with parents in child support disputes.)

--From managers and administrators: To learn mediation skills they could utilize at work.

--From retired and those desiring to find volunteer activities: To serve their communities by being available to help resolve disputes.

Overall, though, from whatever sector the participants represented, their major goal was to learn mediation skills to better help people in their organizations and communities deal with disputes.

Months and years after completing the class I often hear back from people who completed the course and two clear trends stand out:

--Those who followed through to become a mediator most often say they found being one personally rewarding far beyond their expectations.

--Almost all commented on how they began to utilize mediation skills in their own lives.

I’ve never had anyone say the class had been a waste of time. One person did tell me how much he had enjoyed the class, but had learned he would never be a mediator. When I asked why he said he learned that he just couldn’t stop telling people what to do—and he didn’t intend to!

I view learning mediation skills similar to learning CPR. We all benefit by having CPR-trained individuals in our families and organizations. Likewise we can all benefit by having individuals trained in mediation skills in our families and organizations.

With this in mind, I encourage everyone to consider the training.