Seeking Help

In many introductory workshops in North American mediation training begins with an overview and description of the process. The format is often a short descriptive lecture about the purpose, structure, rules, expectations, and roles that comprise the mediation process. Implicit in the opening description are the cultural assumptions of how the process is accomplished and the naming of the process and its components.

In settings where I work with groups from cultural and linguistic contexts other than my own I have initiated with a different opening exercise, one that takes several steps back from presenting a process or naming it. It is built around three key questions. It can be used as a shorter introductory piece, or can easily provide the material for a longer more exploratory effort…