What do mediators and hostage negotiators have in common?

Julie Somerville

What do mediators and hostage negotiators have in common?

What do mediators and hostage negotiators have in common?

They are both using skills that seek to reduce the impact of negative emotions that have derailed someone’s ability to think rationally.   Both parties to a dispute usually have fairly strong views on the strength of their claim, both in terms of liability and quantum, and it may seem that the prospects of them […]

So, you think you’re a good listener… do you do these four things?

So, you think you’re a good listener… do you do these four things?

A significant predictor as to the success of mediation or other forms of settlement negotiations is the extent to which both parties listen to each other and understand each other’s needs and interests. Many of us think we are good listeners but, in reality, our self-assessment is unlikely to be accurate. An assessment by Jack […]

The power of language in dispute resolution

The power of language in dispute resolution

“Language is the currency through which we trade our thoughts and expressions and maintain our relationships with our family and friends and other members of society … arguably then, the language in which we frame our thoughts, fears and aspirations and how we communicate those things should play an important role in our management of […]

Three ways the Children’s Hospital made me a better mediator

Three ways the Children’s Hospital made me a better mediator

While it was a few years ago now, my weeks spent sleeping on the pull-out beds at the Children’s Hospital taught me several lessons that have influenced how I run mediations. While some families spend months or years in the twilight zone, the two weeks we spent in the Children’s Hospital was a foreign and […]