The Mediator's Table

Introduction Joanna Wares Any number of disputes may arise in the business context, which makes mediating business relationships an important tool for business owners and executives. Mediators who work in other areas, like divorce or community mediation, may hesitate to take on a business dispute for fear that they don’t have the necessary skills to do it well. To find out if that’s true, I turned to my personal expert, JOANNA WARES. I first met Joanna when I retired from teaching mediation to law students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. By that time she had started a private mediation service, Las Vegas Mediation, and been a prime mover in forming the Nevada Mediation Group to offer mediators training, resources, and support. She had energy, drive, determination, and the desire make mediation more prominent in Las Vegas, plus one of the sunniest dispositions I’ve had the pleasure of encountering in a long time. Mediating Business Relationships Joanna says that working with business folks is quite similar to working with divorcing couples, except the mediator in the business arena is seeking to keep the partnership together. According to Joanna, no special techniques or knowledge are necessary for business mediations.  So, for example, community mediators shouldn’t think they can’t take on a business dispute, because they’ve really got all the mediation skills they need to provide good service. According to Joanna, negotiation skills can be just as much a problem in the business world as elsewhere. As she states, “Communication is the most important thing and the least often accomplished.” Much depends on the confidence of the mediator, which is a product of experience and/or practice. And you don’t gain the confidence if you don’t try to mediate out of your comfort zone! Joanna’s Contact Information Joanna.wares@gmail.com 702-527-4392       The post Mediating Business Relationships appeared first on The Mediator's Table.

Today’s conversation actually did take place at a table. I had the pleasure to talk to Dr. barbara Strahl, a colleague of mine for many years, on why mediation participants tend to have such poor negotiation skills. We both agree that this is a general trait and that far too many mediation clients come into a session thinking they’re dealing with a car salesperson. The question, of course, is how do you teach them to negotiate appropriately, all the while they’re dealing with what for them is a problem they can’t seem to solve. Perhaps our lousy negotiation skills develop because the vast majority of us are never taught a better way to negotiate. Those of you who are practitioners will not be surprised to learn that coaching them on how to make an offer boosts their negotiation skills surprisingly quickly! Dr. barbara Strahl At one point barbara mentions Roger Fisher and William Ury’s classic book, Getting to Yes. I’ve linked the title to Amazon so you may find out more about the book if you’re interested. barbara and I have different styles as mediators, as you will learn from the interview, but each of us, I hope, have some good techniques to suggest to you. This is the first podcast of the show. I hope you like it. The post “And That’s My Final Offer!” Why Are People’s Negotiation Skills So Poor? appeared first on The Mediator's Table.