Download the FREE special report from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, Mediation Secrets for Better Business Negotiations: Top Techniques from Mediation Training Experts, and you will discover mediation techniques for selecting the right mediator, understand the mediation process and learn how to engage the mediator to ensure a good outcome.


good mediator

What is a Good Mediator?

A good mediator believes that establishing rapport is more important to effective mediation than employing specific mediation techniques and tactics.

One of the central skills of a good mediator is the ability to solve problems. They are process specialists, adept at moving people from narrow positional bargaining toward a problem-solving approach.

Mediation is commonplace in dispute resolution because the alternatives to mediation—go to court, continue to engage in a power struggle, or live with things the way they are—often are not very good. Against those alternatives, mediation is widely used. However, a good mediator can aid parties in negotiation in creating value at the table.

That’s because, in part, a good mediator is able to build relationships. According to a survey by Northwestern University law professor Stephen Goldberg, before people are willing to settle, they must feel that their interests are truly understood. 

If you’re looking for help with mediation, remember that a good mediator puts forth proposals that meet the interests of both parties. They don’t respond to irrational behavior, and they don’t make unilateral concessions in an effort to win one party over the other. The other is that a hallmark of an artful mediation process is that others do not feel maneuvered or manipulated.

To find out more, download the FREE special report from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, Mediation Secrets for Better Business Negotiations: Top Techniques from Mediation Training Experts, and you will discover mediation techniques for selecting the right mediator, understand the mediation process, and learn how to engage the mediator to ensure a good outcome.

We will send you a download link to your copy of this free report and notify you by email when we post new information on our website about how to handle conflict management.

The following items are tagged good mediator:

Dear Negotiation Coach: To Get Unstuck, Hire a Mediator

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

Most business people understand the value of using mediation to resolve conflicts, but did you know that professional mediators can help you reach an agreement during the dealmaking phase? Stephen Goldberg, professor emeritus at Northwestern School of Law, describes how you can hire a mediator to aid both parties in creating value at the negotiating … Read More

How Your Organization Can Benefit from Mediation Techniques

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

If you manage people, disputes will show up at your door. The marketing VP protests that the budget cap you and your new finance VP proposed is hindering a research initiative you supported. Two young sales representatives are embroiled in a turf war. Your administrative assistant is upset because the HR director won’t approve the … Read More

Planting the Seeds of Peace

Posted by & filed under Middle East Negotiation Initiatives, Negotiation Skills.

Tucked away in an idyllic corner of Maine is a summer camp that features many traditional American activities: singing around bonfires, flag raising ceremonies, Color Wars, and chilly dips in the lake. Less ordinary, however, are the daily dialogue sessions, where Israeli and Palestinian campers heatedly discuss their identities, homelands, politics, and pain. Meet Seeds of … Read Planting the Seeds of Peace