Category Archives: Conflict Management

Empathy as One Cornerstone of Mediation

Posted on July 30, 2020 by

by Daniel Merz, Ph.D. Generally speaking, empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for the purpose of valuing a person’s perspective and avoiding shame and judgment.  It’s the ability to identify what someone is thinking or … Continue reading →

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Digital Negotiating: Video-conferences

Posted on July 22, 2020 by

Negotiating by video-conference, such as Zoom or MS Teams, has recently become more common.  When reviewing the on-line literature on this subject it became apparent that there is less research available about how to conduct a video negotiation. But there … Continue reading →

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Digital Negotiating: Email

Posted on July 17, 2020 by

We are often asked about negotiating using email. The questions are something like these: “Is it okay to negotiate through email?” “What is the best way to negotiate by email?” or “What are the difficulties in email negotiations?” Listed below … Continue reading →

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Mediation With Difficult Individuals

Posted on May 19, 2020 by

by Daniel R. Merz, Ph.D* One of the more difficult personalities to face in mediation is when one of the parties exhibits an egotistical, armored, and intimidating personality. These individuals will often display additional character traits such as bullying, grandiosity, … Continue reading →

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Final, Contingent, and Straw Man Offers

Posted on April 12, 2020 by

by Berton Lee Lamb and Sarah Klahn* Offers made in a negotiation can come in a variety of “flavors.” The flavor you choose should be selected to maximize development of mutual trust, create open discussion, and search for good results. … Continue reading →

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NGA Wraps Negotiation Training in SoCal

Posted on January 7, 2020 by

By Berton Lee Lamb, Susan K. Driver, and Robert H. Deibel We recently returned from our latest round of negotiation training courses in Southern California. During early December, we taught Advancing the Art of Negotiation to personnel from three different … Continue reading →

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Transition Management, Part 1: The Interpersonal Negotiation

Posted on November 1, 2019 by

By Russell C. Sanders, Psy.D. There comes a time in everyone’s life when a change produces a reaction that calls for a psychological readjustment. Change is a fact. Transitions are important in all phases of our lives. When we face … Continue reading →

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Special Challenges of Multi-Party Negotiation, Part 3: October Surprises

Posted on May 29, 2019 by

by Berton Lee Lamb and Susan K. Driver A few years ago we were involved in a multi-party negotiation that had an interesting dynamic. Two of the parties in this negotiation were allies. Although they supported each other, one of … Continue reading →

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Should Mediators “Evaluate?”

Posted on February 12, 2016 by

Here is a quote from a blurb that recently appeared in the International Chamber of Commerce webpage: “..the benefit of mediation was seen as lying in the mediator’s ability to look beyond the polarised positions of the parties and find … Continue reading →

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The Role of a Mediator

Posted on November 5, 2015 by

A blog post by Katherine Graham about the role of a mediator recently came across my desk. Ms. Graham makes a good point that mediators should avoid the very natural tendency to pull the parties toward a solution. She writes … Continue reading →

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