Back : [[A Definition of Mediation]] Source page 34 [[The Mediation Process 4th ed by Christopher W Moore]] A mediator may be The opener of communication channels, who initiates communication or facilitates better communication if the parties are already talking The legitimizer, who helps all parties recognize the right of others to be involved in negotiations The process facilitator, who provides a procedure and often formally chairs the negotiation session The trainer, who educates novice, unskilled, or unprepared negotiators in the bargaining process The resource expander, who offers procedural assistance to the parties and links them to outside experts and resources (for example, lawyers, technical experts, decision makers, or additional goods for exchange) that may enable them to enlarge acceptable settlement options The problem explorer, who enables people in dispute to examine a problem from a variety of viewpoints, assists in defining basic issues and interests, and looks for mutually satisfactory options The agent of reality, who helps build a reasonable and implementable settlement and questions and challenges parties who have extreme and unrealistic goals The scapegoat, who may take some of the responsibility or blame for an unpopular decision that the parties are nevertheless willing to accept. This enables them to maintain their integrity and, when appropriate, gain the support of their constituents The leader, who takes the initiative to move the negotiations forward by procedural—or on occasion, substantive—suggestions --- I thought the following are abit similar to [[Case Management]] The forms of problem solving or negotiation assistance provided by mediators vary significantly depending on the parties' characteristics, relationships, histories, dynamics, issues in dispute, needs and interests, structural constraints, their cultures, and a range of other factors. Some common forms of assistance include Identifying, providing, or creating mutually acceptable places and venues for negotiations Bringing disputants together for talks (commonly called convening) Providing hope, security, and safety needed to talk about difficult and often highly emotional issues #counselling Helping disputants acknowledge issues and problems that happened in the past, but shift to a focus on the future Rebuilding damaged working relationships, facilitating development of new ones, and promoting reconciliation Managing and improving communications between disputants Providing opportunities for appropriate expression of emotions Working with parties to design effective procedures for negotiations and strategies to address specific issues Promoting information exchange and a deeper understanding of issues, needs, interests, and concerns Proposing effective problem-solving procedures Suggesting ways to develop options for settlement, encouraging parties to suggest interest-based options, and helping invent creative solutions Helping parties evaluate options and compare them to their Best Alternative(s) to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNAs) Facilitating a process for adding, modifying, refining, or dropping options to make agreement more acceptable Identifying and building agreements on individual issues or packages of linked issues Providing, when appropriate and agreed to by all parties, substantive input or recommendations on potential solutions Recognizing, restating, and confirming agreements on specific issues or broader sets of topics Assuring consideration of potential agreements by the parties, appropriate constituents, advisers, or superiors Writing down agreements Providing a process for formal approval and recording of agreements (signing, thumb-printing, or photos) Helping parties reach an end to the emotional part of a dispute so that they can move forward with agreements Providing, when needed, oversight and monitoring of implementation of an agreement, and helping to promote voluntary compliance