NCJ Number
107521
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Issue: 16 Dated: (Summer 1987) Pages: 15-19
Date Published
1987
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Mediators need to develop an effective sense of timing to give opposing parties the opportunity to shift their positions while providing for protection of their vital interests.
Abstract
The principles of timing can be taught, but the effective application depends on the mediator's skill in assessing the situation and on the mediator's ability to move the parties to a point of receptivity to change. The mediator must listen closely to all that is said and be totally alert to all nonverbal nuances and interactions of the parties. Mediators often take time alone to think through what is said and to assess their 'gut reactions.' This time is necessary for developing, evaluating, and reevaluating strategies to resolve differences in the parties' positions and attitudes. Mediators also need to be aware of the crucial role played by deadlines in affecting parties' receptivity to changing their positions. They should not present a potential solution until the conditions for its acceptance are right. However, they can manipulate the timing of almost any element involved in the mediation process by delaying or accelerating proposals to a point where they have greatest probability of acceptance by one or both parties. Their awareness of the importance of timing is just as important as their knowledge of the steps in the mediation process.