Visualizing Mediation Micro Skills

Our project visualized mediation micro-skills and a phased model of mediation to improve the quality of students’ learning of micro-skills and increase the broader professionalization of the mediation community.

We created:
1) An animated overview of the “Five Phase Model of Mediation”, translated into all UN official languages.

2) A deck of 33 cards with icons and definitions of micro-skills, including communication and attitudinal skills, creating a shared language and visual memory.

3) Two enacted documentaries of expert mediators showcasing an approximately 40-minute mediation of a simulated conflict (played by professional actors). One of the videos includes graphic annotations of the various phase-related practices and micro-skills showcased by the mediator. Having two videos enables students to both see the common method practiced by both mediators, and the unique style of each mediator; and

4) Snippet video clips of the two expert mediators:
a) Showcasing mediation micro-skills, such as how to summarize, reframe, or respond to attacks);
b) Answering questions about micro-skills, such as “what questions do you use most frequently?” and “are there questions you would never ask?”’;
c) Answering questions about attitudinal skills, such as “how do you show empathy?”, “what do you notice about body language?”, and “what do you do for self-care?”; and
d) Answering questions about mediation in general, for example, “is mediation an art or a science?”, “what are your ‘red lines’ or what conflict would you not agree to mediator?”, and “what are your tips for young mediators?”.

The same iconographic language runs throughout all elements of the project, amplifying the learning experience and supporting the internalization of skills.

• We show the overview animation video at the beginning of teaching modules on the Five Phase Model of Mediation, before going deeper into it both theoretically and experientially.
• We hand out a printed deck of the micro-skills cards as reference in the classroom during our module on mediation methods.
• We developed a game using the micro-skills cards that enables students to practice the various skills with one another.
• We have incorporated the icons from the micro-skills cards into all our teaching materials, where relevant, to create a coherent and consistent language on this topic.
• We have shown the snippet video clips and segments of the documentary to students before going into role plays. The combination of having two mediators showcase the same method offers a nice comparison: on the one hand, students see the common method used, and on the other hand the differences in personal style.
• We have used the snippet video clips in short exercises around micro-skills as examples of key skills (e.g., rephrasing positions as interests).
• We have offered the materials to our alumni for their own institutions and training purposes.
• We have used the materials in other training contexts, both within ETH and externally, as part of our broader mandate to professionalize peace mediation.

We believe our project goals were achieved. Our key goal was improving student learning. We have found that, compared to previous program cycles, current students seem to have better internalized the logic of the “Five Phase Model of Mediation”, even if they varied in the degree to which they managed to successfully implement it. Evidence to this was found in various ways, but especially:

1) we witnessed students consult the micro-skills cards throughout the in-person sessions, as tools for reiteration and clarification;
2) our coaching team noticed a difference when observing student role play simulations;
3) we noticed the internalization of the learnings in student comments and debrief questions in class.

We also found that our alumni and broader mediation community, including our strategic partners, were interested in the materials and we have used them in training sessions for and with them. This has helped streamline some of the language around mediation micro-skills and strengthen their importance also in political/diplomatic circles.

When it comes to the enacted documentaries, we deviated from our original plan by creating two versions with two different mediators (male and female coming from different cultural backgrounds and having different mediation experience) and showcasing two types of interpersonal mediations (a local mediation between neighbors who are the direct conflict parties; and a political mediation between representatives of a company and a local community). While a higher investment, this decision ended up being very beneficial in multiple ways:

• We showcase the underlying logic of the method regardless of context or mediator type, i.e., showcasing key structural decisions that are most likely relevant to any good mediation.
• But we also showcase where mediators can differ in terms of personal style, i.e., that there is no “one way” to do mediation.
• We offer a variety of mediator role-models, for example in terms of gender, and cultural and religious backgrounds, assuming different learners would likely connect better and be more empowered by different role models, especially in the context of our very diverse international student cohort.
• We strengthen normative values around broad inclusion in mediation.