Sylvia Mayer of https://smayerlaw.com/ joins Mac Pierre-Louis and Natalia Olowska-Czajka of https://olowskapierre.com/ to discuss Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade. Sylvia is an avid reader and shares her takeaways from reading Pre-Suasion and how they apply to mediation and conflict resolution. At its core, relying on real-life situations and…
Category: Negotiation
Mediator Insights: Don’t Just Know What You Want, Know What You Need
As parties prepare for mediation, they often focus on what they want. They want $X. They want out of a contract. They want to pay nothing. They want…. Sometimes parties forget to also consider what they need. There is a big difference between what you want (e.g., everything you asked…
Mediator Insights: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus in Mediation
While it may require time, patience, perseverance, and creativity, as a mediator, I truly believe that most disputes can be settled. But just because most disputes can one day be settled, does not mean that all disputes can be settled at any given time. To illustrate, let’s consider Mo Willems’…
Mediator Insights: Bursting Bubbles by Challenging Mediation Truisms (Part 2)
Knowledge is Power. Always be Empathic. Continuing my exploration of the negotiation myths challenged by Dan Oblinger and Allan Tsang in Negotiation Mythbusters, here I explore the validity of the above two truisms in the context of mediation and negotiation. Is Knowledge Really Power? The authors challenge three myths related…
Mediator Insights: Bursting Bubbles by Challenging Mediation Truisms (Part 1)
Trust is Necessary. The Best Negotiated Outcomes are Win-Win. Are these two oft-touted truisms really true? Dan Oblinger and Allan Tsang challenge these and other “myths” in Negotiation Mythbusters. Thought-provoking and insightful, their book forces us to think more deeply about the fundamental underpinnings of negotiation and mediation. Is Trust…
Mediator Insights: Receptivity and Resolution (Part 2)
As noted in my prior article, receptivity is being open to listening and accepting new information, ideas, or suggestions. In the context of mediation, receptivity is often the key to resolution (i.e., settlement). Receptivity is also the core focus of Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade. …
Book Review: Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade (Part 1)
Sylvia Mayer of https://smayerlaw.com/ joins Mac Pierre-Louis and Natalia Olowska-Czajka of https://olowskapierre.com/ to discuss Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade. Sylvia is an avid reader and shares her takeaways from reading Pre-Suasion and how they apply to mediation and conflict resolution. At its core, relying on…
Mediator Insights: Dropping Anchor Bias in Mediation and Negotiation
While we may think we are objective and open-minded, we all have internal cognitive biases that affect our understanding and decision-making. One common bias is anchor bias, which occurs when we rely heavily on one piece of data to the exclusion of all other information. In Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion: A…
Mediator Insights: Click Clack Moo: Balancing Competing Interests in Mediation
In simple terms, litigation is a conflict arising from competing interests. Party A sues Party B. Party A wants money. Party B does not want to pay. Party A wants a contract modified or terminated. Party B does not. There are a myriad of dynamics in litigation that boil down…
Mediator Insights: Can You Hear Me? Missed Opportunities in Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Dr. Seuss’ “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” offers a classic example of missed opportunities. Let me draw you a picture. Visualize this: Two Dr. Seuss characters are standing back-to-back in a room. One is named Joe. We do not know the other’s name. Each is holding a…