NOTABLE MEDIATORS: COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

It has been my pleasure and honor to train hundreds of volunteer community mediators over the years. They deserve as much recognition as high profile mediators.

But first, who are these community volunteers?

I can't speak about volunteer community mediators across the country--only those I’ve trained. Given that limitation, they are far and away predominately women.. When asked why they want to volunteer, the overwhelming majority express a desire to give back to their fellow neighbors. When asked about their feelings regarding conflcts, the overwhelming majority cite the values of a peacemaker.

Aside from the knowledge and skills they’ll gain during the training, those most likely to be outstanding mediators share some characteristics:

Non-Judgmental Attitudes: Able to see the uniqueness of conflicts without preconception and stereotypes.

Strong Empathy: A genuine sense of compassion with individuals experiencing a dispute.

Desire to Listen - Listening not only to facts, but for underlying interests.

Patience: A recognition that conflcit resolution takes time and solutions can't be forced on the participants

If you want to join this distinguished group, training programs are available at local community mediation centers.

Typically the training programs are very low cost and only ask that you volunteer at the center for a period of time.

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Fred Jandt is the author of several books, including his latest, “How To Survive a Mediation.”