According to the Exit Surveys of mediators who participate in our ACR Hawaii project Virtual Mediation Lab of online mediation simulations with Skype, the benefits of such simulations can be summarized as follows.

1) Mediators can practice with other mediators the skills and techniques learned during their basic or advanced mediation training

2) During the debrief session, mediators can find out immediately whether (from the parties' perspective) their mediation strategy and techniques worked well or not-so-well – and why

3) Mediators can observe other mediators mediating the same case adopting totally different approaches: e.g. facilitative mediation, transformative mediation or narrative mediation

4) Mediators can test and experiment with new techniques in a safe environment, without being afraid of making mistakes

5) They have a chance to discover how online mediation works; how easily it can be integrated with face-to-face mediation; and how it can open up new market opportunities.

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