Communication

It’s funny how one thing leads to another. Regular Kluwer blogger Ian Macduff posted a great blog earlier this week on the importance of asking questions. That reminded me that I had intended to get…

This blog entry arises not so much from any mediation, but from one aspect of regular social encounters that is all too normal a part of negotiation and mediation. As the title suggests, it’s about…

Abraham path was the idea of William Ury and his Harvard colleagues. The idea was to follow in the footsteps of Abraham which is the origin story of the Middle East. The origin story can be phrased: …

  If you haven't been living under a rock, you may have seen this recent meme in late February that got the internet buzzing with debate. A badly lit photo of a dress spread like wildfire with some…

“Instructions for living a life.  Pay attention.  Be astonished.  Tell about it.”  Mary Oliver, American poet “Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind in clear and…

As 2014 comes to an end, it is good to reflect. How privileged many of us are. I often remark to others that my "job" is better than "real work". What do I mean when I say that? As mediators, we have…

I have never been a great fan of mediator's proposals. I took the view that the mediator's job, done well, was to help the parties to come to a solution themselves. Party autonomy and all that…

“The key to doing well lies not in overcoming others, but in eliciting their co-operation." Robert Axelrod “Although negotiation takes place every day, it is not easy to do well. Standard strategies…

I must confess that I am getting addicted to the TV series “Lie to Me”. Dr. Cal Lightman, the series protagonist, and his assistant, Dr. Gillian Foster, are specialists in fraud detection through a…