The Sound of Silence!

The Sound of Silence is a song written by  and released in 1964  by Simon and Garfunkel. It was used  in the movie, The Graduate. Its lyrics include the phrases: “People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening.” It is the last phrase I want to dwell on: People hearing [Read More]

By |February 16th, 2024|Negotiation Strategy|

Bias: Why It Is Better To Settle!

Recently, I attended a webinar sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Association entitled “ Ethical Obligations: How Bias Plays a role in our Decision- Making”  presented by Mindy Gulati, Esq., Founder and CEO of Fundamental Advisory. Initially, Ms. Gulati discussed the notions of explicit and implicit Biases as well as [Read More]

By |December 15th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

More Words that Matter!

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog on the importance of the words we use during a mediation or any negotiation. For example, rather than using labels “the other side” or “Plaintiff” or “defendant”, we should use the actual names of the people involved. As chance would have it, [Read More]

By |December 8th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

Us vs. Them or Is it We?

Recently, I attended the Annual Conference of the Southern California Mediation Association. One of the workshops intrigued me as it was all about the words we use. Entitled “Words Matter: What to leave at the Courthouse Steps” , the speakers Dr. Debra  Dupree and  Harold Coleman, Jr. Esq.  discussed how [Read More]

By |November 10th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

Faking Emotions During A Mediation

A recent blog post (dated August 21,2023) by the staff at Harvard’s PONS (Program on Negotiation)  concludes that while  sincere anger may be advantageous in a negotiation, appearing to be happy  may or may not be disadvantageous in a negotiation: …When we display anger, our counterparts tend to view us [Read More]

By |September 8th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert?

In my practice of mediation, I never gave this question any thought! But I should.  I just finished reading a book entitled Quiet by Susan Cain (Broadway Books, New York 2013) and realized that our answer to this question greatly impacts absolutely everything we do in life (including negotiating disputes!) [Read More]

By |September 1st, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

A Different Way to Negotiate!

Our recent book club discussion featured Split the Pie: A Radical New Way to Negotiate by Barry Nalebuff (HarperCollins, New York 2022). While I understand the author’s concept, I am not sure if I am able to implement it as a mediator. In the simplest of terms, in a  two-party [Read More]

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