One of the most powerful tools that a mediator can use is to work with the parties in the here and now of the joint session. While this can create uncertainty and unpredictability it does offer rich rewards for the experienced mediator. 

It requires the mediator to be comfortable with the uncertainty of the moment. The ability to be surprised and to be able to act as a role model for the parties in moving the focus away from ‘the problem’ in order to give space for new ideas and fresh options. 

To do this effectively it is suggested that mediators seek to work intuitively. This is developed by mediators acquiring the art of letting go of any attachment to their memories, desires and the need to understand what is happening at any particular time in the mediation. It requires an evenly suspended attention to all that is going on. 

Professional intuition is found in a wide range of disciplines, and is one of the hallmarks of expert practice, especially in fields where professionals need to engage with fast-moving, uncertain and often messy situations. 

Rather than representing unreliable, vague feelings, intuition underpins and informs expertise, enabling experts to notice and respond to both patterns and anomalies occurring in their work. 

Topics include: 
• Knowledge, Thinking and Being in a State of Reverie 
• Separating the problem from the parties’ negotiation relationship 
• Mediating the problem or the relationship 
• The mediator as an irritant 
• In praise of the joint session 
• Being in the moment - Using intuition as a guide 
• ‘The Third’ 
• Deferring persuasion and problem-solving 
• The obligation to repay gifts