When mediation first begins, the mediators must start with
an opening statement. An opening statement is when the mediator explains their
purpose and defines the process of mediation. Most importantly, the mediator
tells both parties that he or she is unbiased, and are there to try to work out
a mutual agreement. I feel that having by having a good opening statement makes
both parties more willing to cooperate. For example, before my brother went to
his court hearing, we were given a mediator. When she approached us, she simply
stated that she was a mediator. Since we did not ask for a mediator I was a
little confused to why she wanted to help us. So before we started talking
about the situation, I had asked her what her purpose was and what was her regulations.
After she explained her purpose, we all cooperated and tried to get a mutual
agreement with the other party.
I think it is great that you guys used a mediator in court. They are there to help you and the mediator should have explained her role a little more to you both. From experience, I know that in court mediation is much shorter, so we always try to keep our opening statement much shorter and to the point. When we do in office mediations the opening statements go more indepth and give a lot more detail to the process. A lot of people do not know about mediation, so as a mediator it is important to have a good opening statement, especially in court.
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