6. COMMUNICATIVE MEDIATION TECHNIQUES
Effective communication is at the heart of effective mediation. Many people take communication in work for granted but it’s not, so those who want to be mediators must regard communication as a subject worthy of study and practice. After all, mediators must not only employ good communication skills to grasp a dispute and connect with parties; they must also assist the parties in engaging in a constructive exchange when their own poor communication skills may be the problem. Mediation is also evaluative in the sense that the mediator evaluates issues and related norms while refraining from giving the parties prescriptive advice (e.g., You should do…). Mediators employ a variety of approaches to initiate or increase discussion and empathy between disputants, with the goal of assisting the parties in reaching an agreement. In this sub-module we will report the most important techniques that a mediator should know. Workplace mediation strategy Workplace disputes can range from disagreements among co-workers to complaints of harassment, contractual problems, and workers' compensation claims. Party-directed mediation (PDM) is a mediation strategy that is well-suited for disagreements involving co-workers, colleagues, or peers, particularly deep-seated interpersonal conflict, multicultural or multi-ethnic conflicts. Before ever bringing them into a combined session, the mediator listens to each party separately in a pre-caucus or pre-mediation. Coaching and role plays are also included as part of the pre-caucus. The aim is that during the joint session, the participants would learn how to talk directly with their opposition. When supervisors and subordinates are involved in organizational disputes, several special issues occur. The negotiated performance appraisal (NPA) is a method for increasing communication between supervisors and subordinates. It is particularly beneficial as an alternate mediation model because it protects supervisors' hierarchical power while fostering discourse and dealing with disagreement . Open your ears The mediator’s job is not very hard but he or she should always follow the following steps. Firstly, he must listen and process all the information, not just pay attention and look like he/she is listening. Listen actively Focus on what the speakers has to say Digest all information and do not speak immediately Keep your eyes on the speaker and your body towards them Nod your head and maintain eye contact If what they are saying needs acknowledgements in some way, acknowledge it Be on alert about nonverbal cues or showing of emotions Be empathetic Clarify all information in order to be understood correctly Do not assume After they finish summarize everything to be sure you got all the information right Why you should do the above Make everyone feel heard Be the neutral actor, everyone should trust you and processes Understand the conflict and the view of all parties Get key information Create an overview of the conflict with all important information, this will help you choose the next steps so you can resolve the conflict Emotion alertness A mediator should always be alert to the emotional showcasing of speakers. Emotion is the main agent that leads many of people’s choices on how to act and what to tell in conversations. When we talk or act with emotion it may lead us to conflicts and actions that we may regret. So, by knowing in an already active conflict that the separate actors of the conflict are emotional, we as mediators should be ready to effectively diffuse any situations that may lead to more conflict. Questioning, transforming, and trying to find a solution The three final steps that a mediator should follow before they stop trying to resolve a problem should be questioning with open-ended and close-ended questions to get as much information as they can. When they reach the part where the parties reach the core of their conflict, then a mediator should try to transform the points they disagree on to points that they may understand each other’s point of view.