Develop Winning Graphics. It is often effective to summarize your case into a few graphics that capture the essence of the issues. The graphics may include a summary schedule, spreadsheet, or photographs. They will focus the preparation, aid any oral presentation or discussion, remind the mediator, and provide a readily available synopsis of the merits or the damages. Many parties are surprised when the first questions asked by mediators have to do with the claimed damages.
Mediators focus on the bottom line.
Soft costs and speculative losses are summarily dismissed, and over-inflated damages are quickly whittled away. An important aspect of mediation is being able to recognize real losses and justify them. Calculate Your Transactional Costs. . To defuse the parties' focus on the merits, mediators often use the tactic of emphasizing the cost of going to trial versus settling a case. The transactional costs are often exaggerated in attempts to get the parties to settle.