When preparing for mediation or when involved in conflict in general, it is important to have an understanding of the facts surrounding the issues—or at the very least, the ones you can reasonably investigate yourself or through your attorney. This seems obvious, but being thorough is vitally important! This will help you make good decisions for yourself and help you avoid unnecessary expenses.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in mediation and witnessed a fact revealed that ended up changing entire underlying issues that the parties already spent fighting over, but likely could have avoided altogether. Miscommunications and misunderstandings happen when we fail to hear each other or perceive things through a very subjective lens of what we might fear or anticipate from the other party.

For a number of reasons, parties to mediation can develop misconceptions about the Mediator’s intentions. In reality, this is a very unlikely event. It is more likely to be a response from the participant that highlights a misconception about the mediation process.