Jeff Thompson's Blog (145)

Judging Others When You Don't Realize It

Mediation and nonverbal communication are two terms, and those who know me can vouch for it, that I have been using non-stop for the past two years as both are the core focus areas of my PhD research topic at Griffith University Law School.

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Added by Jeff Thompson on May 19, 2013 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Empathy is the Secret Weapon

Empathy is the Secret Weapon

Having the ability to combat hate requires skills that are also necessary of mediators and other conflict professionals. One such skill is…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on April 15, 2013 at 8:28pm — No Comments

Quiet Cars & Conflict Resolution

I just read this and enjoyed it so I thought some here on ADRhub.com, especially those familiar with the "quiet cars", will too.

Enjoy!

Jeff

A Conflict Resolution Scholar Explains How to Resolve Conflicts in the Quiet Car…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on March 25, 2013 at 4:37pm — No Comments

Being Transparent Does Not Always Payoff, Mediators

To all of the mediators who believe in transparency, take a look at this short clip and let me know if being transparent is always good. Enjoy :)

Added by Jeff Thompson on March 20, 2013 at 7:30am — No Comments

UN Mediation & Peacemaking Website

Did you know the UN has a site dedicated to peacemaking?

They also have a mediation response team always on standby ready and able to help when called upon.

From the site:

STANDBY TEAM

Established in 2008, the Standby Team is a group of full-time mediation experts that can be rapidly deployed to provide technical advice to United Nation’s officials and others leading mediation and conflict…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on March 15, 2013 at 9:24pm — No Comments

6 Negotiation Mistakes

Men's Health…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on February 18, 2013 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Edinburgh: Conflict Resolution Capital... of the World?

It was very interesting to see Edinburgh, Scotland is trying to market itself as the global location for people to visit to resolve their conflicts. Sure, one might think of New York City, Paris, or Geneva, but why not?

from the article:

KEY players from opposing sides in conflicts around the world would be brought together in Edinburgh under a plan to make the Capital a location of choice for peace talks.

The plans have been compared to the…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on January 28, 2013 at 1:49pm — No Comments

What's Happening [01.08.13]

Caucus Saves The NHL Season!

The value of caucusing was on full display as it played a critical role in resolving the NHL…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on January 7, 2013 at 2:00pm — No Comments

The Mediator- Queen of the Room!

On a recent episode of CBS's the Good Wife, the confusion between mediation and arbitration was once again on display. Firstly, I do not watch the show but rather it was mentioned on the very popular John Jay College Dispute Resolution Listserv.…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on January 7, 2013 at 1:48pm — No Comments

I must admit, I am intrigued by the constant potential convergence of mediation and technology. I recently came across a press release from Colin Rule's new company, Modria. They offer a dispute re…

I must admit, I am intrigued by the constant potential convergence of mediation and technology. I recently came across a press release from Colin Rule's new company, Modria. They offer a dispute resolution process for internet based conflicts. If you don't know Colin (really?), he's the guy who set up PayPal and Ebay's dispute resolution program that handled millions of a complaints.

So what is Modria? from the…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on December 4, 2012 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Twitter Account Gets Mediator "Iced" from Case

I am definitely an unofficial advocate of conflict resolution professionals using and embracing technology for all different reasons. This includes keeping up to date with news and research, networking, and raising awareness of your name and services.

The story out of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services offers some caution to embracing technology. One of FMCS mediators had to be removed from the NHL mediation session due to, according to an article:

full…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on December 2, 2012 at 1:48pm — No Comments

How Do Mediators Handle Media Misrepresentations of Mediation & Arbitration

Cross-posted from Russ Beamer:

Remember last summer how the New York Times and Boston Globe headline writers couldn’t figure out the difference between mediators and arbitrators?

If you do, you may also remember that List Serv master Maria R. Volpe had some thoughts on the situation and the state of the public perception of ADR.

Gathering those thoughts was a great reason to get her back into our pages after too long an…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on November 19, 2012 at 7:30am — No Comments

The President Is A Mediator & Publicly Endorses It

Yes, with the title I deserve to be writing headlines for the NY Post, and no, I am not lying I'm just referring to the President of India. People on the Greater New York area dispute resolution community listserv recently had a great discussion on the media's lack of knowledge between the difference of mediation and arbitration.…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on November 19, 2012 at 7:30am — No Comments

What's Happening [11.05.12]

Get Involved In All The Discussions From #CyberWeek2012…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on November 5, 2012 at 8:00pm — No Comments

The Power Of Body Language

Nonverbal communication, including body language, plays a crucial role curing conflict resolution situations including negotiations and mediation sessions. Because it occurs primarily subconsciously, people can dismiss it's importance.

Research has time and again proven the effect nonverbal communication can have during interactions with other people in a variety of…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on October 15, 2012 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

Should You Just Let Him Smoke That Cigarette?

Originally posted at EnjoyMediation.com

The negotiation ended before it began:

Landing in Tokyo, he asked how a previous session, conducted by his boss, Secretary of State …

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Added by Jeff Thompson on October 8, 2012 at 7:45pm — 1 Comment

7 Crucial Tips To Improve Your Conflict Resolution (via Modria)

Here are 7 useful tips that can you with your next conflict regardless of you are involved in it or helping others.

Enjoy!

Via Modria.com

1. When anger comes, wisdom goes.

- Hindi…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on October 7, 2012 at 11:30am — No Comments

Using Metaphors WIth Coaching, Mediation & Negotiation

(Originally posted at www.EnjoyMediation.com)

Metaphors are easily overlooked yet are incredibly powerful. The use of metaphors during conflict can either help parties move towards resolution or compound differences and push the interaction further along the downward spiral of negative conflict.

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Added by Jeff Thompson on September 17, 2012 at 5:00pm — No Comments

No 'Golden Bridge', $200 MILLION Wasted

In William Ury’s popular book Getting Past No, there is an important section titled “Building A Golden Bridge” for the other negotiating party. In essence, having an offer available that the…

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Added by Jeff Thompson on July 30, 2012 at 8:30am — 1 Comment

NYT: Mediation & Arbitration Are The Same

According to a recent New York Times- "the newspaper of record"- mediation and arbitration are one in the same. I came across this information on the very popular and very informative New York Dispute Resolution Community Listserv. The listserv as a side note has +2,000 members and is not limited to New York area people.

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Added by Jeff Thompson on July 2, 2012 at 9:59pm — No Comments