"Can you really make the classic book in its field even better? In this book, authors Jennifer Beer and Caroline Packard prove that, when it comes to mediation, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" This new edition of The Mediator's Handbook provides new tools, new scripts, and new frameworks that will assist experienced practitioners and novices alike. Based on up-to-date research foundations from anthropology, psychology, and behavioral neuroscience, the authors take us by the hand and lead us step-by-step through the mediation process, suggesting concrete strategies to help people in conflict work through difficult emotions to actionable ideas for resolving their disputes. Bravo!"
— G. Richard Shell, Thomas Gerrity Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of Business and author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

"The fourth edition of The Mediator's Handbook continues to improve upon everything that made the original edition a success: user-friendly explanations for every step of the mediation process, starting with what mediation is, to dealing with the most difficult situations that can arise in the course of a dispute. While the Handbook presents itself as being for mediators, those who should have a copy of the Handbook on their shelf include lawyers representing clients in litigation, human resources executives, managers of complex international infrastructure projects, or school counselors dealing with difficult teenagers. In short, The Mediator's Handbook is a comprehensive and practical guide for anyone who regularly deals with conflict."
— Michael McIlwrath, co-author of International Arbitration and Mediation:A Practical Guide, and host of the podcast "International Dispute Negotiation"

"Plenty of mediation books will give you the kind of language ordinary mediators use - the same language we are used to hearing from other helping professions, such as lawyers, and therapists. What these authors let us in on - is the secret language of outstanding mediators. They generously share hundreds of examples of carefully chosen phrases mediators can use at every step that make the difference between knowing what needs to happen next in mediation, and being able to make it happen."
— Hideaki Irei, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Kyushu University

"The upgrades done to the 4th edition make it a VERY usable manual and I will most definitely recommend it to anyone looking for this kind of manual. When I run my course next year this will be THE manual I have students buy."
— Jonathon Rudy, Elizabethtown College, Global Peacemaking Scholar-in-Residence

"The Mediator's Handbook is the basic primer for anyone who is seriously interested in resolving conflicts constructively. I have used it in my classroom for the last twenty years.This new edition gives us even more insights and practical suggestions for how to deal with the complexity of disputes in many different kinds of situations. Beer, Packard and Stief are masters in the mediation field and have much to offer us. An essential addition to the current scholarship and practice."
— Susan Sgorbati, Jones Chair for Social Activism, and former Dean of Faculty, Bennington College

"The Mediator's Handbook continues to be solid, and speaks to the needs of the participants."
— Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Ph.D., International Peace and Conflict Resolution, School of International Service, American University

Dr. Jennifer E. Beer, PhD, combines mediation experience with her cultural anthropology background to lead courses and workshops in mediation, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural communication. She regularly teaches a negotiation course at Wharton (University of Pennsylvania). Author of the Mediator's Handbook and of Peacemaking in Your Neighborhood, she has mediated conflicts and facilitated meetings for communities and organizations for 30 years. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Caroline C. Packard, JD, is an organizational change and conflict response specialist and mediator with 30 years' experience in the field. A graduate of Yale College and NYU School of Law, and a former corporate litigator with extensive formal training in individual and group psychology, Caroline has a special interest in the evolutionary psychology of group conflict and cooperation. She provides mediation and conflict-resolution services and training to organizations, families, and family businesses. She lives in the United States

Eileen Stief developed the mediation process and principles documented in The Mediator's Handbook, and trained a generation of mediators to work with community, multi-party, and environmental disputes. Now retired, she led the Friends Conflict Resolution Program's experiment in community dispute settlement and later specialized in environmental mediation. She lives in the United States.

Elizabeth Elwood Gates provided the delightful cartoon illustrations in honor of her aunt, Ann Richan, who was a passionate champion of community mediation.

Preface

Overview
      What is mediation?
      A useful tool
      What makes mediation work?
      The mediator's role
      The anatomy of the mediation process
      The anatomy of a session
      Process-centered mediation
      Guiding principles
      Mediation terms

THE PROCESS

Getting to the Table
      Can mediation help this situation?
      How people find a mediator
      Voluntary or mandatory?
      Initial conversations
      Do they want to participate?
      Defining the scope
      Approaching the other parties
      Should I be the mediator?
      Pre-mediation agreements and review
      Choosing a location

The Mediation Session Part I: Exploring the Situation
      Preparing yourself, co-mediators
      Setting up
      Opening
            Opening: Welcome & warm-up
            Opening: Logistics
            Opening: Orientation
            Opening: Participants' role, willingness
      Listening to Each Perspective
      The Exchange
            The Exchange: Facilitating
            The Exchange: Tasks & flow
      Clarify information
      Check out interpretations
      Listen for their concerns
      Example + impact
      Restate their interests
      Note other relevant interests
      Encourage empathy and reconciliation
      Transition to Reaching Resolution
      Separate Conversations
      Uses for Separate Conversations
      Breaking for Separate Conversations
      Separate Conversations: Template

The Mediation Session Part II: Reaching Resolution
      Reaching Resolution
      Reaching Resolution: Sequence
      Topic List
            Topic List: Why it is crucial
            Topic List: Drafting
            Topic List: Wording
      Midpoint check-in
      Options
            Options: Together come up with ideas
            Options: Gut, interests, workability
            Options: Reality testing
      Decisions
            Decisions: Gut, interests, workability
            Decisions: Emotions, hesitations
      Writing the Agreement
            Writing the Agreement: Specifics
            Writing the Agreement: Positive framing
      Closing
      Afterwards: Wrapping up
      Multiple sessions

THE TOOLBOX

Understanding Conflict
      Disputes & conflicts
      Metaphors for understanding conflict
      The conflict core
      Common effects of conflict
      The pleasures of conflict
      When things heat up
      The way out is through
      The Conflict Triangle
      People, Process, Problem
      Which mode are you in?

Supporting the People
      Supporting the people: Main skills
      Setting the tone
      Level of formality, taking notes
      Confidentiality in practice
      Giving your full attention
      Elements of full attention
      Acknowledging
      Handling judgmental remarks
      Protecting
      From adversarial mode to cooperative mode
      Avoid this Kettle of Fish
      Attending to comfort & accessibility
      Language and hearing difficulties
      Working with people in all their variety
      Finding commonalities
      Scenarios: Emotionally difficult situations 111

Facilitating the Process
      Facilitating the process
      Impartial facilitation
      Structuring the session
      Structuring the discussion
      When you can be directive
      When to consult
      Keeping on track
      Crafting questions
            Crafting questions: Word with care
            Crafting questions: Spin it positive
            Crafting questions: Follow up for clarification
      Kinds of rewording
      Reflecting back
      Summarizing
            Summarizing: Its many uses
      Working visually
      When to intervene
            When to intervene: Stopping the momentum
            When to intervene: Slowing the process down
      Is it time to quit?
      Ending a mediation
      Scenarios: Facilitation challenges

Solving the Problem
      Participants' starting point: Power & rights
      Changing the "positions" mindset
      Interests
      Layers of interests
      Why interests matter
      Finding space for solutions
      Reframing
      Checking out (mis)interpretations
      Lies, perceptions, deceptions
      Plain description of facts and needs
      Flip it! ? Outcome-focused interests
      Tactful wording of interests and topics
      Summary of interests
      Topic List examples
      Eliciting ideas: Brainstorming
      Eliciting ideas: Opening up possibilities
      Can mediators suggest options?
      Visual aids for making decisions
      Types of resolution
      "Typical" or "good enough" resolutions
      What-ifs
      Fallbacks: Contingencies, uncertainties
      Step-down agreements: Smaller scope
      When there's no agreement
      Final review: Workability
      Final review: Future
      Sample agreements
      Scenarios: problem-solving challenges 173

Going Further
      Going further
      Adapting the process
      Mediating with children & teens
      Mediating across generations
      Mediating family conflicts
      Mediating employee conflicts
      Participant evaluation
      Mediator evaluation of a mediation
      Evaluating yourself
      The Handbook "soup pot"
      Authors & contributors
      Organizational support

Index