Blogs
You will find useful articles on conflict-related topics.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Self-Determination in Mediation by Dan Simon and Tara West
This latest book by two transformative mediators provides a valuable addition to the transformative mediation bookshelf, with an in-depth look into the way that transformative mediators perceive self determination in mediation, and how they support it in practice. The book includes many case studies to demonstrate how this underlying principle works in various situations, including
Pre-mediation coaching
How coaching can support mediation preparation and participation When people choose to explore mediation as a process for managing their conflict, the mediator (or perhaps an intake officer in some contexts) will usually speak with each party separately prior to the joint mediation. These conversations may be called intake sessions or pre-mediation meetings. There are
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: An Emotional Dictionary by Susie Dent
This book is a very similar book to another book I reviewed recently, The Book of Human Emotions by Tiffany Watt Smith. Like that book, this is a dictionary of emotions, with entries in alphabetical order, and includes all kinds of emotions terms from the distant past to the present day, and from many different
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Between Us by Batja Mesquita
I am not exaggerating when I say that this book blew my mind! I will never look at emotions, and the impact of culture, the same way again. If you work in any cross-cultural setting, this book is essential reading. This book opened my eyes to how much of my understanding about emotions is influenced
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: The Upside of Uncertainty by Nathan Furr and Susannah Harmon Furr
In my book Conflict Coaching Fundamentals: Working with conflict stories, I explain how one of the important shifts that people need to make in order to develop a constructive mindset towards conflict is the shift from certainty to uncertainty. The challenge is that uncertainty is an uncomfortable place to be, and certainty is comfortable, even
Reflecting back emotions – questioning some assumptions
One of the core techniques we are taught as mediators and coaches is that when a person expresses their emotions (either directly or indirectly) we should “reflect them back”. Reflecting back a person’s emotions is supposedly helpful for showing that you understand how the person is feeling, validating the person’s emotional response, building rapport, demonstrating
