Book Review: Negotiation Mythbusters (Part 1)

Sylvia Mayer of https://smayerlaw.com/ joins Mac Pierre-Louis and Natalia Olowska-Czajka of https://olowskapierre.com/ to discuss Dan Oblinger and Allan Tsang’s Negotiation Mythbusters, which challenges and redefines the concepts of trust and win-win in mediation. https://youtu.be/R9WTS-Wz1BY

Book Review: Robert Cialdini’s PreSuasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade (Part 2)

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…

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 – Click Clack Quack: Drafting Mediated Settlement Agreements

You go to mediation.  You work hard all day culminating in an agreement.  Now you need to document that agreement.  Easy-peasy?  Not really, because the devil is always in the details. To illustrate, I’m going to re-visit a children’s book that I explored previously:  Doreen Cronin’s Click Clack Moo: Cows…

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. …

Mediator Insights: A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

Offering a glimpse behind the mediator’s curtain to enhance parties’ ability to find the yellow brick road paving the path to resolution of disputes in mediation.  Drawing on analogies from the Wizard of Oz, this article offers suggestions to advocates in mediation. © 2022 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced…

Can You Spot the Differences? And Similarities? Comparing Family Divorces with Business Divorces in Mediation

Sylvia Mayer of https://smayerlaw.com/ joins Mac Pierre-Louis and Natalia Olowska-Czajka of https://olowskapierre.com/ to explore the differences and similarities between mediating family divorces (when a couple separate and need to divide up their property and, if children are involved, set a custody schedule) and business divorces (when owners of a small…