Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and Their Impact on the Mediation

The training and development of mediators has focused primarily on enhancing mediators’ technical skills and increasing their understanding of the theory behind the practice of mediation. This article focuses on a third aspect of the development of mediators — namely, their personal characteristics. The authors contend that a mediator's “presence”— more a function of who the mediator is than what he or she does — has a profound impact on the mediation process. Drawing on analogies from research in the physical and social sciences, the article suggests that the most subtle influences of the mediator's affect and manner may in fact be powerful influences in helping the mediator “bring peace into the room.”