Role of the Mediator
How Do Mediators Help?
Mediators can be helpful in several ways:
- Bring parties together
- Help design consensus building processes
- Establish communication and set an atmosphere for
negotiation
- Help with people problems
- Help convene large numbers of parties
- Help negotiate agendas and clarify issues to be addressed
- Help parties obtain data they need to make decisions
- Facilitate joint sessions and call caucuses
- Clarify interests, priorities and alternatives to an
agreement
- Help parties explore (sometimes in private) ideas for
creative solutions
- Identify overlapping interests or areas of potential
agreement
- Help parties agree on criteria to evaluate solutions
- Record agreements as they develop
- Help parties understand limits on negotiating flexibility
- Help anticipate implementation problems and address future
conflicts
See tools of the mediation practice for examples of how
mediators accomplish these steps. |
