ADR Conflict Resolution Training Courses, Workshops, and Webinars 

Under the Administrative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act of 1996, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) 

is called upon to provide training in conflict resolution to aid in the effective use of Alternative Dispute Resolution 

throughout the Federal government. To that end, we offer both live and web-based training on a wide variety of topics.

Live Classroom and Web-Based Training Courses and Workshops

Live classroom training can be provided at your site or at an FMCS office with appropriate training space. Live, interactive web-based training is also available to help meet your training needs while breaking down geographic boundaries 

and saving travel dollars! 

Customized training programs available upon request. 

40-Hour Basic Mediation Skills Course

Individuals assuming mediation or other dispute resolution duties must learn a new set of skills and 

techniques in order to be successful. Mediation fundamentals, such as the 8-step mediation model, 

effective communications and interest-based problem solving techniques, are among the subjects an 

effective dispute resolution professional must master. Interactive exercises, mock mediations, role-plays, 

and debriefs with FMCS’s experienced professional mediators will provide a unique and effective learning 

experience for agency neutrals.

Advanced Mediation Skills Training 

This workshop is for experienced neutrals interested in taking their mediation skills to the next level. 

Interactive dialogues, role-plays, demonstrations, and other skills building exercises will help neutrals 

manage more complex conflicts, dispute dynamics and personalities. Participants also will receive 

instruction in cutting-edge theories and approaches to mediation, inquiry, mediator self-awareness, and 

integrating interest-based principles and techniques into a mediator’s “tool kit.” Some experience as a lead 

mediator and basic mediation training are suggested prerequisites for this course.

Mediation Skills Refresher Course 

This workshop will help agency neutrals keep their skills sharp and refreshed as well as provide them the 

opportunity to engage with FMCS’s professional mediators to help them practice and improve in the areas 

they find most challenging. An overview of basic mediation skills will be provided with a strong emphasis 

on role plays to strengthen skills and to try new approaches and techniques.

Facilitation and Advanced Facilitation Skills 

Facilitation is a process in which a skilled neutral offers structure and procedural guidance to enable any 

type of committee or group to achieve shared goals. A skilled facilitator relies on many of the same 

communications, interest-based problem solving, and conflict resolution skills that mediators deploy in 

any conflict resolution setting. Facilitation skills can be incorporated into FMCS mediator training 

programs or delivered as a stand-alone program. FMCS mediators can also serve as coaches and mentors 

to new facilitators.

FMCS | One Independence Square | 250 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20427 | 202-606-8100 | www.fmcs.gov
ADR Conflict Resolution Training Courses, Workshops, and Webinars 

Maximizing Mediation Outcomes for Federal 

Agency Employees and Managers

This course focuses on explaining the mediation process, the role of 

the mediator, as well as a discussion of best practices for maximized 

outcomes. Following this program, participants will be able to: 

explain the mediation process, effectively work with a mediator, 

develop strategies and employ mediation best practices for 

maximized outcomes. Topics covered include: The benefits of 

mediation; Important characteristics, components, and steps of 

mediation; The role of the mediator, the parties, and representatives.

Essential Conflict Resolution Skills Series: The 

Art and Science of Inquiry 

Resolving conflict can be challenging. Asking the right 

questions, the right way, is a key skill for anyone 

who wants to be an effective problem-solver in 

the midst of conflict. This FMCS interactive course 

explores how to best use questions to bring 

parties in conflict together and to

facilitate problem-solving. Following this 

workshop, participants will be able to recognize the interpersonal dynamics that impact 

conflict interactions, identify and craft the 

most effective questions to use in conflict 

resolution, employ critical self-awareness 

strategies for examining question intent, reduce 

the impact of assumptions, recognize emotional 

response cues that indicate rephrasing a question 

may be necessary, and develop effective questions for 

difficult situations. 

Essential Conflict Resolution Skills Series: 

Self-Awareness in Conflict 

Navigating the landscape of conflict effectively requires a self-awareness to employ strategies to reduce emotional attachment and 

increase creative thinking. This course reviews the stages of learning 

that lead to higher levels of self-awareness. Participants will be 

introduced to basic conflict neuroscience principles and develop 

personal strategies to gain control over automatic defensive 

responses that can impair conflict resolution efforts. 

Essential Conflict Resolution Skills Series: The 

Art and Science of Dealing with Difficult People

Difficult people are everywhere! Or are they? Each and every day, we 

encounter people whose behavior comes across to us as obstructive, 

obnoxious, stubborn, offensive, or worse. What are the roots of 

difficult behavior and what are the best strategies for dealing with 

these encounters? Understanding the human emotional response 

process can lend great insight into these perplexing questions. 

Following this workshop, participants will be able to identify the 

elements of human interpersonal reactions at play in a given 

situation and recognize emotional response cues that can guide 

them to refocus a conflict encounter that’s gone awry and improve 

conflict resolution outcomes.

Advanced Communication Skills for Leaders: 

The Six Competencies of OutcomeBased Communication

Communication occurs for many reasons and in many situations, 

circumstances, and environments. In the workplace, we are tasked 

with goals and objectives critical to mission accomplishment. 

Communicating effectively with our peers, our subordinates, and our 

managers is essential for successful outcomes. However, ineffective 

communication approaches can derail even the best intentions to 

‘get the job done.’ This program identifies the core interpersonal 

communication skills necessary to achieve the outcomes we seek in 

the workplace and provides strategies for daily communication 

success: self-awareness, active listening, inquiry, empowering others, reframing, and leveraging locus of control. 

Following the program, participants will be able to 

identify the six core competencies of 

outcome-based communication and develop 

strategies for utilizing these skills for improved 

workplace environments, enhanced conflict 

resolution outcomes, and all-important 

mission accomplishment goals.

Mindfulness: A Conflict 

Resolution Tool

Managing stress to promote effective 

interpersonal relationships is a key strategy for 

conflict resolution. Mindfulness in the workplace 

is garnering attention and credibility with large 

corporations as a way of dealing with stress, 

encouraging collaboration, and fostering positive 

workplace relations. Mindfulness addresses the stress 

derived from interpersonal conflict by teaching how to concentrate 

on the observation of one’s thoughts, perceptions, and emotions in 

the present moment with the aim to develop internal self-awareness. 

This workshop teaches participants how to effectively utilize 

mindfulness strategies to reduce the defensive and emotional 

responses that often lie at the heart of many workplace conflicts. 

Essential Neutral Skills: Integrating 

Interest-Based Principles into Your ADR Practice

Facilitative mediation approaches utilize interest-based principles to 

help participants find the most durable solutions to their conflict; 

therefore, effective use of the interest-based process steps is a key 

skill for neutrals. This workshop will provide instruction and 

hands-on role play experiences to help neutrals develop their skills 

to integrate issue statement development, interest identification, 

brainstorming, standards for evaluation, and development of joint 

solutions by consensus into their mediation practice. 

Co-Mediation Best Practices

This course looks at the best practices for successful partnering with 

a co-mediator, focusing on the dynamics of co-mediation, as well as 

how to approach and structure a mediation session when two 

mediators are sharing the task of neutral. 
ADR Conflict Resolution Training Courses, Workshops, and Webinars 

Can’t We All Just Get Along?: Personal 

Competencies for Dealing with Bullying in the 

Workplace

This workshop is designed with a focus on the individual’s 

personal strategies for dealing with what they perceive to be 

bullying behavior encountered in the workplace. Following 

this program, participants should be able to differentiate 

between “adults behaving badly (ABB),” workplace bullying, 

and workplace violence; and apply appropriate strategies 

and responses to deal with and deter the 

type of behavior encountered.

Can’t We All Just Get Along?: 

Managing Bullying for 

Workplace Leaders

This workshop is designed with a focus 

on how managers and other leaders can 

effectively address bullying behavior 

encountered in the workplace. Following this program, participants should be 

able to differentiate between “adults 

behaving badly (ABB),” bullying, and workplace violence and 

apply appropriate strategies for the type of behavior encountered; identify issues associated with workplace bullying and 

how they may turn into EEO complaints & grievances; 

identify best route for resolution of bullying complaints 

including whether mediation may be appropriate; assess 

strategies before, during and after an episode of bullying; 

and identify management and workplace allies to deter 

and/or resolve bullying issues. 

Generational Diversity in the Workplace 

Workshop or Presentation: Myth, Reality, or 

Should We Just Get Back to Work?

Much has been said - and continues to be said about the five 

generational cohort groups sharing today’s workplace. Are 

their values, perspectives, and expectations about work 

hopelessly at odds? Or do we all share more in common than 

we know? This course examines the forces of conflict in the 

workplace – described from a stage, age, and cohort 

perspective. Following this workshop, participants should be 

able to: identify the five generational cohorts present in 

today’s workplace; recognize the influences that shape their 

‘work view;’ and begin to develop proactive strategies to 

engage the generations in the conversations that will lead to 

breaking down stereotypes and building bridges instead of 

walls.

Essential Problem-Solving Team Skills: Meeting 

Leadership, Facilitation, and Effectiveness 

Workshop

Teams can create incredible solutions with a synthesis of 

knowledge, skills, and ideas. However, without effective 

meeting processes and facilitation, those ideas may never 

evolve or be implemented. Having effective meeting processes and skills will enhance any team’s ability to reach consensus decisions and make good ideas into reality as well as help 

them identify and utilize best practices for overall meeting 

effectiveness. Following this workshop, participants will be able to: 1) Lead a group’s deliberations over mission and problem-statement 

development to enhance meeting and 

problem-solving focus; 2) Create and organize 

meeting structures, logistics, and agendas that 

maximize time allocations and outcomes; 3) 

Apply facilitation strategies to assist a team’s 

movement in the direction of idea generation 

and problem resolution; 4) Identify and 

develop effective action plans for idea implementation; and 5) Assess the potential usefulness and effectively utilize work groups, task forces, and 

sub-committees to accomplish goals. 

Mediator “Bookend” Best Practices: 

Maximizing Mediation Outcomes with 

Pro-active and Reflective Practices before and 

after the Mediation

The mediation process is most effective when the neutral 

employs relationship-building, tone-setting, and process 

orientation steps prior to the session, as well as being 

reflective of the process and participant feedback following 

the session. This course focuses on the pre-and post-mediation activities that improve overall mediation outcomes. 

Pre-mediation pro-active engagement can lessen participant 

anxiety and defensiveness as well as ensure proper preparation for the meeting. Post-mediation reflection and feedback 

allows the neutral to focus on continuous improvement in 

their delivery of mediation services. 

The Science of Trust and the Art of 

Trust-Building

Conflict naturally breeds in low-trust environments and can 

lead to complaints and grievances by employees who 

perceive they have been wronged. This workshop will provide 

insight on the interpersonal evolutionary origins of trust 

perceptions as well as best-practice strategies to promote 

and cultivate trust in the workplace. 
ADR Conflict Resolution Training Courses, Workshops, and Webinars 

Teambuilding

It is important for team members to be able to work well 

together in order to accomplish their mission and to maximize the talents of all the people in the group. Teambuilding 

programs are custom-designed training focused on helping 

teams of various sizes understand each other’s strengths and 

limitations, determine how to do the job of the team in a 

coherent way, and develop new skills and strategies to use as 

problems or conflicts occur in the future. The interactive 

training allows team members to feel they are growing their 

relationships as they communicate, learn, and plan for the 

future together.

Executive Conflict Coaching and Training 

Programs

Mission accomplishment is enhanced when teams and 

departments have effective conflict resolution environments. 

Leadership is a core element of this and these custom

designed programs and interventions use a thorough needs 

assessment and intervention design strategy that will focus 

on the aspects of conflict management appropriate for the 

specific circumstances. 

Diversity in the Workplace

The current workforce is one of great diversity. There are 

often many different cultures and races as well as a great 

variety of beliefs, values, ages, physical differences, and 

individual needs. How can we all work together, given the 

sometimes huge differences between us? This training 

focuses on ways to (1) Understand each other, both in terms 

of how we are alike, as well as how we are different; (2) 

Communicate with each other, especially in times when it 

seems as if there is a huge chasm between us; and (3) Find 

ways to encompass the differences in ways that satisfy 

everyone’s needs. The goal is to learn ways to respond to 

diversity in the workplace so the differences are strengths 

instead of weaknesses.

Finding Your Voice in Mediation

Good mediators will tell you that the parties in mediation are 

the ones who achieve the solutions, not the mediators. The 

mediators facilitate the conversation and “hold open” the 

space for communication to happen and for solutions to 

emerge. This training will help participants learn how, as 

parties in mediation, they can use the process to produce 

win/win results for all. The training will include communication and listening strategies, ways to understand people 

even when they seem very challenging, and approaches to 

bring order from chaotic conversations. The strategies which 

are included may also be helpful for conflict situations 

outside of mediation.

Meeting Effectiveness Skills

Great meetings can result in great ideas. This course will 

focus on best practices for meetings and other group 

processes where outcomes and deliverables are needed. 

Following this program, participants will be able to structure 

agendas for maximum outcomes; facilitate discussions that 

lead to solutions, develop action plans for idea implementation, and measure success. This practical session will focus on 

ways to organize large group meetings for maximum 

involvement and specific strategies to facilitate the meeting. 

The basics of planning the meeting, designing the agenda, 

and setting up ground rules or parameters will be addressed 

as well as keeping the group on track, designing the overall 

mission with group input and buy-in, responding to difficult 

group members, and dealing with conflicts.

Telemediation

This course is designed to prepare mediators for delivery of 

ADR mediations using telephonic or video means. Topics to 

be covered in the program include special considerations 

and preparations in a virtual environment as well as best 

practices for overcoming the obstacles a mediator confronts 

when trying to mediate in this environment. Please note, this 

program does not include training on using specific 

technologies. 

ADR Services One Independence Square 250 E Street, SW 

Washington, D.C. 20427 202-606-5445 adrreferrals@fmcs.gov

What Do these Services Cost?

Since FMCS does not receive appropriated funds for these ADR services, we must be 

reimbursed for the costs involved in delivering the services, which is generally $130 

per hour or about $1,000 a day, plus any necessary overhead costs. In accordance 

with Federal requirements, FMCS and the agency requesting service generally enter 

into a simple Interagency Acquisition Agreement (IAA) and/or a memorandum of 

under-standing. 

There is no cost for initial consultations. 

For more information contact: Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Customized training programs available upon request.