Applied Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)Course

The Applied ADR Workshop is the most challenging and most interesting workshop we offer. There are eight difficult mediation role plays, which are all coached. Additionally, you will apply the skills learned at the first two workshops and new skills that we will provide you to a problem that you are dealing with, either personal or work-related. You will work individually with one of the instructors to find innovative ways to deal with the problem.

Eight Mediation Role Plays
At the workshop, you will participate in 8 complex mediation role plays, each of which is coached. The role plays are followed by instructor-led debriefs on advanced mediation skills.
The role plays will cover important issues that mediators have to deal with, such as:
  • parties who withhold or mislead on important facts
  • obtaining closure
  • mediating complex issues and parties (including lawyers and unrepresented parties)
  • evaluative and facilitative styles
  • shuttle mediation techniques
  • using pre-mediation meetings and caucuses
  • mediating purely financial cases
  • working from and towards a draft agreement
  • handling ethical and harassment issues, racism, strong emotions, and entrenched history
  • mediating with unreasonable parties
  • confidentiality issues
Personal Mentoring Exercise
In addition to the role plays, we offer participants the Personal Mentoring Exercise.
During the workshop, you will have a one-on-one session with an instructor. You will work on a negotiation, communication, and/or facilitation skill set of your choice. You will have the opportunity to practice those skills with reference to a challenging situation of your choice, using a number of tools that we will provide you. You will be shown new ways to exercise those skills effectively and will be given a chance to practise them. You will receive constructive instructor feedback on how to improve, and will be able to observe the instructor demonstrating tools and techniques relevant to the skills and problem chosen. Each participant will receive at least 1 hour and 20 minutes with the instructor one-on-one (if confidentiality is desired), and up to 2 hours and 40 minutes if working with a chosen partner (each person in the pair would have half the time to work on their problem, with the other partner present to contribute and share in the learning). Participants will leave with an action plan of new approaches to apply to their conflicts.
The skills you may wish to work on can include:
1. Remaining rational in the face of strong feelings / 6. Improving a relationship in a negotiation
2. Expressing strong feeling appropriately / 7. Speaking clearly in ways that promotes listening
3. Being assertive without damaging the relationship / 8. Actively inquiring and listening
4. Dealing with unrepresented or unreasonable parties / 9. Mediation/Arbitration issues
5. Ethical challenges for mediators and how to respond / 10. Multi-party community mediation issues