The mediator will seek to identify with the disputants the central issues that need to be understood, and seek to prioritize and focus on them. The mediator may meet with you privately to discern the underlying facts or issues surrounding the dispute. These private meetings are called caucuses. Caucuses are confidential. The mediator cannot reveal the information learned in the caucus unless released by you to do so.
Caucuses allow the mediator to better understand obstacles to a negotiated settlement.
Caucuses give you the opportunity to explain what you really want from the negotiation. The mediator may convene a number of meetings and caucuses throughout the negotiation. The mediator may create doubts about the validity of a position. The mediator may help create alternative agreements and understandings to help resolve the dispute. Written agreements state the specifics of what was agreed upon.