THE BASICS: Why Everyone Chooses Mediation, Facilitation and Negotiation

Quick recap:

Negotiation involves two or more parties getting together to come to an agreement regarding an issue they are facing without the help of any third parties like a mediator or a facilitator.


Mediation, is like negotiation except it involves the use of a third party neutral called a mediator.The mediator is trained in helping people open up, overcome impasses and deal with emotion or sensitive issues. The mediator without getting involved personally by taking any sides and is bound by confidentiality rules. 

Facilitation is like much the same as mediation except that it involves resolving issues among groups and not individuals.  In this instance the third party neutral (similar to a mediator) is called a facilitator.

So why do you need to know anything about mediation? Well, quite frankly, because many organizations - including the courts - are using it to resolve disputes.  You may call the police or take your case to court to try to find a solution.  But, in many cases these days, they first refer you to mediation.  Though you are not compelled to find a solution during mediation, understanding the "lay of the land" and how you can capitalize on it is always a good idea.

So, what are some of the major benefits of mediation and facilitation? Why are they growing in popularity among business, academic, government and legal institutions? If you look at most mediation websites, you will see answers like: 

1. It is an extremely cost effective method of merging interests and resolving differences.
2.  It is a relatively quick process (especially when compared to going to court).
3. It gives you the opportunity to craft a resolution that is right for you (instead of having one imposed on you by a third party like a judge).
4. It allowes for creative, informal, "outside the box" approach to problem solving.
5. It gives you a chance to avoid the stressful, drawn-out and extremely expensive litigation process.
6. It is a process that focuses on meeting the main interests of all the parties; so, in effect, everybody wins and nobody loses.
7. It allows you to maintain existing business or personal relationships while merging your interests or differences.

These reasons are all true.  However, the most important reason is that mediation and facilitation don't just focus on the specifics of the conflict in front of them.  They also look to the parties who are in conflict and ask the question: " Why are the positions taken by each side so important to them?" In answering this question, the look to the underlying concerns shown in the circle of conflict chart below.  These includes the parties values, relationships, externals/moods, interests, structure and data.  

We'll look at these things in more detail in succeeding blog posts.   But for now, it is important to note that a skilled mediator/facilitator is not there to tell people how to solve their problems.  But by taking the time to understand the underlying concerns in the circle of conflict chart above, he/she is able to help the parties focus on solutions that that they believe will best fit these needs. So, at the end, when they finally craft a resolution, the parties are more willing to stick to it because they