Mediation is a great way to resolve disputes efficiently and effectively – but how does it work?

Mediation works by having those in dispute focus on the desired outcomes or resolution of the dispute, as opposed to the emotional-based positions that so often direct personal approaches to conflict.

Emotional Positions

Our emotional reactions to things, people, and events help form our “positions” about them. Once emotional positions are formed we tend to look at them as “truths” – and we go to great lengths to support and prove them as truths. This can present a significant problem in resolving conflicts. The focus becomes one of both sides trying to convince the other that their side is the “truth; while refusing to acknowledge or better understand the other side’s perspective.

Positions are emotional – and often they prevent movement towards desired goals. Protecting our positions can block us from actually working towards the desired outcomes. Positions are polarizing: they send those in conflict to opposite corners – as far away from the middle as possible. In a dispute, the emotional positions can sabotage the best efforts to reach agreement and promote ongoing arguments and “fighting”.

Interests

Mediation focuses on the interests of the disputants: the desired end results or goals of resolving the dispute. These are not emotion-based results or goals – they are objective desired outcomes that function outside of the conflict, but are directly impacted by the dispute.

The interests are what the mediation focuses on. The mediator starts by identifying the shared interests of those in disputes. The shared interests become the initial agreements in the mediation process. No matter how small, the shared interest is can be used as a starting place on which to build further agreements and resolution.

Preparing for mediation includes determining one’s interests in the matter – separating out the interests from the emotional positions. Conflict coaching can assist those in a conflict determine what their interests versus their positions are as they prepare to mediate a resolution.

Additional Reading:

• Pride = Increased Conflict
• Role Of Emotions In Conflict
• Business Partnership Disputes
• A Little Preparation Can Go A Long Way
• Tips For a Successful Mediation
• Expectations: How Long Does Mediation Take

Related Posts:

• Argument For Mediation: Active Conflict Resolution
• Our Desire For Judgment: Right vs. Wrong
• When is Mediation Appropriate?
• A Little Preparation Can Go a Long Way
• Divorce Mediation & The Mediation Coordinator
• Mediation Goes Mainstream: A TV Show with Mediation as its Theme

Tags: conflict, Conflict Resolution, conflict resolution research, conflicts, desire, dispute, Dispute Resolution, Emotional, emotions, getting, how mediation works, Mediation, ongoing, Outcome, outcomes, politics, position, positions, resolution, resolve conflict, resolving disputes, shared interests, social philosophy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 9:57 pm and is filed under About Mediation, Conflict Resolution, Divorce, Family & Parenting, Workplace & Business Conflict. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.