Mediation: Art or Science?

Taking the Basic Mediators Course with the Dispute Resolution Foundation, I am getting to see what the organization really does.  What are some of its principles, and how it intends to effect change in Jamaica.  At the same time, I'm learning how to become a mediator.  By the end of the course, I can go out there and say, "Stop!  I'm a mediator, let's talk!"  On second thought, I'll take things step-by-step and integrate it into the way I deal with my own problems as they arise.

I find the mediation training provides a useful mindset and structural approach to solving problems, which is a lot of common sense.  It is outlined as a very structured 7 step process.  The tricky part is the application.  Being a mediator demands one to enter the process without bias - as a completely neutral presence.  Considering the nature of cases, which could involve any number of matters including violent ones, the mediator has to remain unbiased and unemotional.  You cannot insert your own judgment or bias.  You have to be fair in your body language, tone of voice, and choice of words and boy is it much harder in practice than it seems in theory.  "You mean I have to be fair to this thief?"  "Yes sir!"  "This rapist?" Yep!"  We all have our own biases from society and how we're raised, but more than that, we then have to disconnect the bad tendencies and habits wired into our brains.  There's probably some people who just cannot be mediators.  Despite all the instructional reading or studying, the only thing that can really prepare you is the practical experience.

We did an exercise today.  There were 5 or 6 groups doing the same role play.  Among the groups, there were probably 5 or 6 different answers when the question of "what is the issue" arose.  The issue identification is the crux of the mediation process.  If the mediator cannot nail the issue(s), the case is highly likely to go nowhere.  The diversity of answers really speaks to how hard it is to do (or how bad we all were at doing it).  The key was learning to ask the right questions.  Thinking about it, I drew a parallel to auditing (or consulting, or advisory, or a whole lot of other applications).  To get the information you want, or to draw out any useful insights, you have to ask the right questions. In mediations, you have to deal on so many possible levels.  A matter that might seem simple like a tenant owing a landlord 6 months' rent, could have some other underlying issues, for example, maybe the landlord has been getting numerous complaints from other tenants or that he really can't stand the smell coming from the tenant's unit.  These are entirely different problems to tackle than rent in arrears!