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]
Anyone studying conflict resolution quickly learns that there are five styles to resolving conflicts: avoidance, competition, collaborating, accommodating and compromising (styles) Avoidance “… is knowing that there is a conflict but choosing not to deal with it.” (Id.) If we do not acknowledge or talk about the conflict, maybe it [Read More]
In his book, Influence- Science and Practice, Robert B. Cialdini (4th ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston 2001) discusses six psychological principles that impact us every day. One of them is Commitment and Consistency: “ It is, quite, simply our desire to be and to appear consistent with what we [Read More]
Suppose you are mediating a divorce in which the wife agrees to accept 25% of the community assets in settlement even though a court would award her 50%. She wants the matter concluded as quickly as possible in the worst way and so will accept anything to be done with [Read More]
Last week I posted a blog discussing which standards in the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators might be the most important. While each of us, undoubtedly, has a different opinion, for fun I decided to ask ChatGPT how it would prioritize the standards. I did so, both from [Read More]
Last semester, one of my students took the wrong take home exam. So, I prepared a special make up exam which was simple yet required a lot of thought: Rank in terms of importance five of the nine model standards in the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators and explain [Read More]
Happy New Year! May 2024 bring you health, happiness and prosperity… and the keeping of your resolutions! Typically- at this time of year- many of us make resolutions that we hope to keep throughout the year. They may pertain to keeping fit, losing weight, not drinking as much alcohol, attaining [Read More]
In my final blog of the last three Decembers, I have reflected on the previous 525,600 minutes aka the year. Another 525,600 minutes have elapsed, and it appears that we are finally through with the pandemic. However, we are not through with Covid-19 (Or should I say that Covid -19 [Read More]
