Mediators naturally walk into the room seeing and hearing everything through the lens of their own life experiences – most notably their training and education. One concept we hold dearly at the American Institute of Mediation is to help mediators become more complete in their skill sets. In this unique workshop, our trainer, Lee Jay Berman, takes the group through a single fact pattern of a business/commercial partnership dispute (easily accessible and translatable to family law and other areas of practice), and walks them through the “how to” of mediating that dispute through the four distinct lenses:

1. The evaluative, legal, risk analysis lens
2. The psychological and relationship lens
3. The practical, business lens
4. The creative problem-solving lens

Paying homage to the movies RASHOMON and INSIDE OUT – the goal is to help us all see what we may be missing when we focus on just one perspective in our mediations. This workshop is intended to help seasoned mediators open their eyes more widely, see different layers, and view the dispute that’s in front of them through different lenses, allowing them to access more of their own creativity, and expand the possibilities for potential resolutions. What attendees will learn: Most lawyers and retired judges can analyze a case, and most insurance claims professionals and risk managers can calculate risk and probable outcomes, but many are not as effective as they could be at using that information and analysis to persuade people. And, those without those backgrounds will learn how to do that effectively. And, mediators who are not trained in the mental health professions will learn what to look for in the psychological and relationship issues that may be going on in front of them. All will learn what business ramifications to ask the parties about, from tax implications to what will happen with employees and customers. Combining all of this exploration, the creative problem solving lens will provide much more rich ground for being creative, and will help those mediators who ask how to transition a negotiation from one focused on numbers and compromise into one that is integrative and creative, and can produce a true win-win. Most mediators want to work in that kind of environment, but could learn more about how to make that transition so they can add more value and avoid being reduced to number carriers.