We all negotiate every day, both at work and at home. Few of us, however negotiate as well as we could. Principled negotiation, developed at Harvard Law School, is an approach to negotiating that allows you to achieve a good deal consistently. In a principled negotiation, you look behind the positions at underlying interests and try to find a solution that is good for you, durable, and maintains relationships. In mediation, or facilitated negotiation, a mediator assists disputing parties to negotiate more effectively, so that a conflict can be resolved.
Mediation can save time and reduce the financial and emotional costs of resolving a dispute.
Mediation can also help parties reestablish trust and respect, and can help prevent unnecessary damage to relationships.