6. Mediation Essentials — Listening Can Pay Big Dividends
As you probably surmised, this right-to-tell-your-side-of-the-story philosophy assumes that someone will be listening. If you are wise, that someone will be you. And, although listening is something that most of us human beings don’t do very well, in mediation you can often be well paid for listening. It is amazing how feeling that one has been heard can soften a party’s bitter determination to take a case all the way to a trial. This softening of your opponent can save you money. People who are less bitter or edgy are usually more inclined to settle without making their opponents pay in blood.
So, if your lawyer is urging that you go to the mediation and just listen without saying anything, there may be good reasons for doing so. This idea of listening might even be a useful concept for life outside of mediation.
Robin M. Green, Divorce: When It’s the Only Answer (The Ordinary Mortals Guide, Inc., 2005), Chapter 14, p. 210.
Mediation Portal
1. Mediation: Getting the Flavor of Mediation
2. Mediation: If You Are Ordered to Mediate, Can You Object?
3. Mediation: Should All Cases Be Mediated?
4. Mediation: Confidentiality
5. Mediation Essentials — Opportunity to Tell Your Side of the Story
6. Mediation Essentials — Listening Can Pay Big Dividends
7. Mediation Essentials — The Typical Mediation Format
8. Mediation: How Soon Should the Case Be Mediated?
9. Mediation: How Long Will It Take? How Much Will It Cost?
10. Choosing a Mediator — What You’re Looking For
11. Choosing a Mediator — Weeding Out the Clueless
12. Mediation: It Is Not the Place or the Time for Drama or Surprises
13. Mediation: Unintended Consequences — Mediation Sometimes Is Just a Discovery Tool
14. Mediation: The Mediation Process Is Not a Substitute for the Trial Process
15. Mediation: Understanding the Mediator’s Bias
16. Mediation: Can You Mediate without a Mediator?
17. Mediation: Can You Mediate without a Lawyer Present?
18. Mediation: Mediated Settlement Agreements Are for Keeps
19. Mediation: The Dark Side of Mediation