Do not be dismayed by impasse. It is a natural and inevitable part of the process. The mediator will help explore ways of working through or past such obstacles. Don't try to jump a step in the process - mediation takes the time it does in order to be truly effective. 4 Watch and listen Mediation works best where the parties and their counsel engage in active listening which essentially means being open, attentive and focused.
Mediation offers parties to a dispute an opportunity to feel heard.
Your attentiveness as counsel will convey that you are listening and taking what is said by the parties seriously. You might not agree with what you hear, but if you are willing to hear their perspective of the dispute, the other side is more likely to be receptive to yours. Active listening allows the listener to gauge the emotional intensity of issues for the speaker and therefore what is really important. It enables conflict arising from miscommunication, lack of communication, misperceptions or differing views of the data to be picked up and dealt with. Simply by listening and clarifying facts and data the problem may be considerably reduced, or new interests and different settlement options may be brought to light.