Week 6: Exploring the language of mediation

Introduction

Figure 1 The mediation process

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A photograph of a group of adults and a child sitting at a table.

Figure 1 The mediation process

• a.‘I’m wondering if...’
• b.‘It sounds like …’
• c.‘You seem distracted’
• d.‘Am I right in …’
• e.‘So you think Barry’s a bully?’

Which of these phrases do you think a mediator might say – and which would they probably not say?! (Hint: Three are recommended sentence starters by the mediator you’ll hear from in this week, and two are to be avoided.) You’ll find out more about this language in a later activity.

This week you’ll learn about the relevance of language to a specialised area of professional practice: mediation and conflict resolution. You’ll listen to a professional mediator talk about the key role of language in her professional practice. You’ll learn about the way in which mediators consciously shape their own language and seek to influence the way their clients talk to one another, in order to achieve successful outcomes in mediation.

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

• describe the work of a mediator
• understand the kind of language that a mediator might use and why
• describe some of this language using linguistic terminology.