A Christmas Gift for Mediators (12/12/11)
Monique McKay
Monique McKay discusses gift options for mediators. She has put together some unique "peace" ideas, and invites more suggestions.

What Oprah Taught Me (6/05/11)
Vivian Scott
I look back over the years and think of all the things that Oprah has taught me.

Weapons of Mass Distraction (5/16/11)
Vincent Fornias
There is a growing body of scientific and historical evidence that humor, or the ability to even temporarily change your emotional landscape, does indeed have dramatic medicinal benefits.

Divorce Humor (5/06/11)
Pete Desrochers
Humor in life is wherever you find it, but divorce mediations aren’t exactly the best venues for humor…or are they?

William Hartgering: Mediation Likeness to Improvisational Theater - Video (10/31/10)
William E. Hartgering
William Hartgering explains the satisfaction he gets out of mediating and seeing parties change throughout the process.

Mediation Jokes II (9/08/10)
John Kenyon
The last time the author published a list of mediation jokes, there was a bit of an uproar. Is this new list of mediation jokes as funny or controversial?

Jay Folberg: Negotiation Skillset Observed from PawnBroker Father - Video (3/29/10)
Jay Folberg
Jay Folberg tells of observing his pawn broker father as he bargained with customers. He claims the key to his father's success was figuring out what people's needs were and how to then meet those needs.

Sid Lezak: Humor, Rapport, and Experience - Video (3/17/10)
Sid Lezak
Sid Lezak describes how he uses humor to lighten the mood of parties coming in and help them focus on what is in their best interests. He also talks about his vast experience and how his responses can be somewhat automatic.

Carrie Prejean And Mediation Confidentiality (11/16/09)
Steve Mehta
The saga of Carrie Prejean, the Miss California contestant for the Miss USA pageant who came out against gay marriage, had a picture of her breasts “accidentally” exposed during a photo shoot, and who sued the Pageant, which then countersued to get back their money for her breast implants, and who then settled the case when a sex tape was discovered of her, is still in the news. But this time, she took on Larry “Inappropriate” King for the ultimate fight about mediation confidentiality.

Prejean, Larry King And Hard Facts Making Bad Mediation Confidentiality Law (11/16/09)
Victoria Pynchon
While reading this opinion (or simply this post) think about Carrie Prejean's accusation that Larry King's question to her -- "why did you settle" --was "completely inappropriate" because (presumably) her thought process was protected by mediation confidentiality.

Mediation Jokes (11/16/09)
John Kenyon
There is much discussion on whether or not mediation is a profession yet one of the defining marks of a profession is when you can tell jokes about its practitioners. The truth of this observation is the public must know enough about the profession, even if only a caricature or stereotype image, to find the joke humorous. While there are a few mediation jokes around and several cartoons I don’t think we yet have reached that point. Nevertheless, I also think jokes are important to a professions self-identity and we certainly can have a go of poking fun at ourselves. So below are a few jokes I have written that hopefully might tickle our collective funny bone.

Multi-Party Facilitation - Improvisation: How to ‘Do The Jazz’ in Multi-party Facilitations (11/12/09)
Alex Azarov
Multi-party facilitations often reach such levels of complexity that the facilitator must be thoroughly prepared. However, things often don’t eventuate the way we predict and preparation alone is not enough to avoid a possible de-railing of the process. A skilled facilitator must be able to manage unexpected group dynamics in a similar way to a jazz musician taking part in an improvised performance.

Humor About Mediators, Mediation And Mediated (7/06/09)
Luis Miguel Diaz
A mediator ridiculing mediation is healthy exercise. With humor any conflict is source of entertainment; clowns are funny because they deal with conflict.

Michael McWilliams: Traits of a Good Mediator - Video (5/07/09)
Michael McWilliams
Michael McWilliams describes the ideal character traits of a mediator: patient, listener, understanding, flexible, and using humor - though, carefully.

Monty Python Star Regrets Lack of Mediation in Third Divorce (9/09/08)
Keith Seat

Litigation continues in John Cleese’s third divorce – along with payments by Cleese of £900,000 a year – much to his chagrin. Cleese suggested to his wife that it would be easier and fairer to go to mediation, but is facing an aggressive litigator. By contrast, Cleese stated that his first two divorces were “very peaceful” and civilized using mediation.

Telegraph.co.uk (July 24, 2008)

Jazz Brings Mediation Alive (7/15/08)
Geoff Sharp
Some years ago I started a post with 'Yeah well, I'm not sure that I get the whole 'mediators can learn from improv comedy' thing to be honest...'But since then I have read the wonderfully refreshing Improvisational Negotiation by Jeff Krivis and talked to him about the connections between jazz and mediation. And when someone like Jeff says this is the next frontier for mediators, you better listen up.So I wasn't surprised to hear music coming from Jeff's classroom at Pepperdine where he was...

No News Is Good News – Opting Out of Daily Mass News Media (4/07/08)
Laurie Israel
I admit it. I was a newspaper addict. A three-paper-a-day addict. Mornings before leaving for work, there was the Boston Globe, followed by The New York Times. These took an hour of my time. Then after work, the local afternoon daily, The Patriot Ledger. Mine was a seven-day-a-week habit, with Sunday mornings spent luxuriating in the extra time to peruse my Sunday papers.

Fear of Funny: A Mediator’s Guide to Losing It (3/31/08)
Eva Zimet
What does conflict management have to do with comedy? A lot, it turns out. To be funny, to elevate another person (or, say, a large audience) one has to be present and very much in tune with the other. A merging of sorts takes place. A shift from pity to pathos takes place. A shift from separation to unification takes place.

Send lawyers, guns and mediators: what songs would be on your mediation playlist? (1/28/08)
Diane J. Levin
On the ABA Journal Daily News web site, the Question of the Week asks “Which Songs Would You Choose for a Lawyer’s Playlist?” A few of the usual suspects are suggested, including “Lawyers, Guns and Money” by the immortal Warren Zevon. In time for Friday and the weekend, here’s a proposed playlist for mediators. (And no, “Kumbaya” does not make the cut. Not on my list, pal.) Walk a Mile in My Shoes, Joe South We Can Work It Out, John Lennon and...

Last Week's Impasse (12/17/07)
Geoff Sharp
An impasse had developed, the mediation was grid locked.As many had before him, the mediator hesitated outside the door and sucked in as much oxygen as he could from the stuffy hallway before turning the knob to the defense breakout room.They were an unhappy bunch. The tiredness showed. The room smelt.Funny, the mediator thought, how the parties always tire long before the mediator. Maybe because it's their money he mused.They looked up at him, expecting some simple break-through moment. There...

Green Eggs & Ham And Other Creative Strategies For Effective Mediation (8/27/07)
Joe Epstein
Do your mediation statements have the same punch, rhythm, humor, repetition, alliterations and power that are found in Dr. Seuss' book? Have you even considered using this ageless children's book as a measuring stick for you mediation statements? Do you draft your mediation statements to get the attention of your opponent and the mediator? Do you dramatically and emphatically convey information? Do you use humor and charm in the mediation statement and at the mediation? Do you use persuasive tools to influence your opponent and the mediator? Figure out how to make the complex simple. Figure out how to make the voluminous concise. Like Dr. Seuss create a hook or theme and sell it in your mediation statement and at your mediation.

Some Mediation Expectations and Musings (8/27/07)
David Karp
After more than 1,200 hours of actual time at the mediation table, and without apology for over simplification, I share with you some of my (perhaps naive) musings about others’ expectations in mediation. A candid discussion before the mediation between lawyer and client and even between lawyer and mediator may help to manage these expectations.

Creative Thinker: John W. Cooley Interview (8/06/07)
Gini Nelson
John W. Cooley, former United States Attorney, Senior Staff Attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and partner in a Chicago law firm, is featured in the current issue of Engaging Conflicts Today. His most recent article at Mediate.com is “The Joke Model Of Creative Thinking.” The article got five stars from Robert Benjamin, who declared about it, “The creativity and quality of thought are obvious.” If you would like a copy of his...

A Good Laugh (8/06/07)
John Windmueller

Rapid Transition from Reptilian Brain to Neo-Cortex or Mediation - Laughter is the Best Medicine (12/04/06)
Cate Bozarth
The poem is an attempt to articulate the physiology of anger and how clients can be hijacked by their internal chemistry. Negotiating with them while they are in this state is futile as they cannot shift into their higher consciousness until the bio-chemical peptide onslaught passes. That's the theory anyway.