A Mediator who understands the value to each Participant [‘P’] of why what is at stake is of importance, can drill down in order to explore what each P actually needs and why – which is not always something that can be fully evaluated and satisfied in monetary terms.

Then the Mediator can steer each P:

(i)     away from a binary ‘pre-conception’ based upon ‘rights’ and ‘power’, i.e. that in order to ‘optimise gains’ and ‘minimise losses’ – they must fight each other and win; and
(ii)   toward a ‘conception’, that what is of value and importance to them, i.e. their ‘interests’, can instead be optimised by working together as partners.

In other words, M changes the game in Mediation, by enabling the P’s to reframe their dispute as being an ‘opportunity’ which can be maximised through ‘cooperation’, i.e. by working together in jointly exploring, imagining, creating and crafting ‘out of the box’ – creative solutions.

In order to develop a deep understanding, M must first spend as much time as is necessary with each P in getting to know them by listening, before reflecting, and then reframing.

In other words a Mediator must first go slow, in order to later go fast!