Task #20: We all have buttons. When pushed they have irritated you. If not, we would not be here at mediation. Therefore, what could they say or do in the mediation that would really tick you off all over again?

Ken Strongman Mediation Tasks buttons
What are your buttons?

Task #20: We all have buttons.

We all have buttons. When pushed they have irritated you. If not, we would not be here at mediation. Therefore, what could they say or do in the mediation that would really tick you off all over again?

The resolution of a dispute does not just occur on the day of the mediation.   Each participant to mediation needs to prepare their own strategy for negotiation in the settlement.  Based on my experience as a mediator, these are a collection of tasks each participant needs to complete and to discuss with their council and the mediator before the mediation.

We all have buttons that might be pushed by the opposition.  They can be anything.  Once it was the attorneys that were the problem.  They did not like each other nor respect each other.  They got into a shouting match yelling four letter words at each other. Their clients didn’t know what to do.  Naturally, we went quickly in to private caucus and tempers went down.

You need to understand what your personal buttons are and you need to communicate them to the mediator.  With that knowledge the mediator can skillfully avoid the potential of those buttons being pushed by the other party.

Ken Strongman, MediatorAbout the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

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