Tag: Communication

An uncomfortable listening level can guide a difficult conversation. Are there topics or deep conversations that feel uncomfortable to you?...

Do You Need a Framework or a Formula for Navigating Conflict? I spoke with someone recently who was looking for...

Mediation is an invaluable tool for resolving disputes, but it comes with its unique set of challenges, especially with respect...

A person does not have to be particularly gifted to be able to make disagreements worse. On the other hand,...

Mediators are well acquainted with parties blaming one another for problems.  Scapegoating in particular can get in the way of...

One of the most difficult tasks for a mediator is to find ways to help parties overcome impasses. Mediators face...

When discussing my book Seven Essentials for Business Success:  Lessons from Legendary Professors last year during a Great Reads Book...

Competing, accommodating, and compromising all fall on the distributive dimension — on the diagonal from the upper-left mode to the...

– and a Personal Story or Two Successful mediation isn’t always rooted in the confidential mediation statement, or the back...

Browsing the internet for inspiration, I came upon an article in Live Science concerning quantum physics entitled “Does reality exist...

Introduction: Conflicts happen when one party believes that another damaged or diminished their interests. When we take these beliefs to...

Quality mediation courses include communication skills that enable the mediator to more effectively draw out information, which is necessary, if...

For the past several years Roselle Wissler (Arizona State) and I have been working on several articles about the early stages of...

Why does one organization have a very adaptive culture while another has a culture that lives in the past? Is...

Even though we know that name-calling is infantile, sometimes in the heat of anger, we realize we have resorted to...

Howard Herman gets parties out of battle mode in cases with complex power dynamics After 37 years, including 23 years...

A sample of over 3,000 phrases for negotiators, mediators, and judges, on more than 400 topics in the book from...

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” - Ben...

Question:  Where does conflict come from? Answer: Normal, unconflicted life. Building on Felstiner, Abel, and Sarat’s classic article describing the...

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.” Lily Tomlin Forgiving is complex. Among other things, forgiveness means being...

In the old days, before the 1900s, it was mostly a person’s physical skills that were brought into the workplace…skills...

Separating married couples, with or without children, know that divorce requires the legal dissolution of the marriage.  Divorce is not...

The culture of a family, community, or organization partially determines whether a given conflict mode (particularly collaborating) can be used...

Originally published in the JAMS ADR Blog JAMS neutral Alan Perkins doesn't believe haranguing litigants helps to resolve disputes. Perkins...

The Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON)  blog posted an article about deception in negotiations.  Entitled, “Ethics In Negotiation: How tthe...

Heidi and Guy Burgess have long focused on how society – and our field – can deal with intractable conflicts. ...

Much of what takes place in couples, families, and other close relationships lies buried beneath layers of unspoken desire, expectation,...

Toxic co-workers or bosses can create big problems at work. As a workplace conflict transformation consultant, coach, and trainer, I...

I imagine we all do! However, we aren’t necessarily aware of how we do so until it’s too late. Though...

Misunderstandings and assumptions about what another person means, or what the word they use means, can really fuel conflicts. I’ve written...