How to Choose a Good Mediator

If you have never undergone a mediation session, how would you go about choosing a mediator that will give you the best experience and ensure that you have explored all the possible outcomes there are? Here are a few characteristics you might look out for:

1. Did you sense that the mediator can establish rapport? This is very important because a sense of rapport will encourage parties to communicate with each other. Communication is the foundation for a productive mediation experience.

2. Will the mediator be creative and operate from an interest-based perspective? A trained facilitative mediator will gently guide parties to identify their interests, and from there help you to generate options for meeting those interests. Ask the mediator about his approach to conflict resolution and see if she mentions the term "interests".

3. Does the mediator seem to be able to listen? Good mediators are highly skilled at active-listening: acknowledging, paraphrasing and asking questions to tease out the best communication between parties.

4. Is the mediator patient and tenacious? How would you know this until you get into a relationship with somebody? There are a few indicators. If the person takes his time to explain and answer all your questions well, if he or she speaks to you respectfully and not condescendingly, there is a high likelihood that the person will be patient as a mediator.

5. Must the mediator have some sort of industry knowledge or background in the type of dispute you're facing? Well, a good mediator does not need to have domain expertise although it would be useful. However, some mediators are particularly good in certain areas such as marital mediation or community mediation, so it may be worthwhile to enquire about their experience.

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