WHAT CAN BE LEARNED IN MEDIATION TRAINING

I just completed another training class for mediators and it occurred to me to ask the students what they found most valuable after the final session. I do this because instructors don’t always know what students are hoping to gain from taking such a course.

Here are the top 4 things students shared with me:

1.) Self-Determination: In mediation self-determination refers to the parties coming to a voluntary, informed, and uncoerced decisions.

2.) The Steps: Basically, this refers to the process a mediator uses during sessions.

3.) Listening: Listening refers to ensuring each party feels heard and understood by asking questions and summarizing, which builds trust in the mediator and their approach.

4.) Neutrality: Neutrality means the mediator treats all parties equally and manages the process without imposing a solution.

These are consistent with what I tell people during the training and can be the most difficult to learn.

Many people who become interested in mediation have experience being good problem-solvers. But I warn them they might see ways to solve problems that a mediator may not consider paramount.

Ideally, helping people through mediation to learn better problem-solving skills can help them later with day-to-day conflicts.

In decades of teaching mediation skills, I’ve only had one person tell me being a mediator was a good choice because they couldn’t stop telling other people what to do.