Mediator Training: Is it worth the time and effort?
If you're interested in becoming a mediator, you've probably asked yourself: "Is it worth the time and effort?" The answer is a resounding 'YES'.
Mediator training is a long-term investment that will pay off for years to come. Here, Hunt ADR Lead Trainer Gregory Hunt gives five reasons why, in the year mediation is to become compulsory for many disputes in the UK, he thinks you should train with us and join the ranks of professional mediators.
1 - Mediation training will help you manage conflict better in all of your relationships.
When you take a step back from the details and look at what's happening in a dispute, the situation often involves two or more people or groups who are struggling to get their needs met while respecting each other's perspective and needs. Mediation is a conflict resolution process that can be used in personal and professional settings alike. It helps people deal with difficult situations by using communication skills and problem-solving methods that focus on finding solutions rather than assigning blame.
Mediation can help you resolve disputes with family, friends, or coworkers at home or work, even if they're not legal issues. It's also useful for helping community members come up with creative solutions when there are disagreements about how things should be done in common spaces like parks or libraries.
2 - Mediation will give you an opportunity to learn a career with good job prospects and personally rewarding work.
Mediation is a career with great job prospects and personally rewarding work. The skills you learn in mediator training are transferable to many other professional settings, including law and business.
You'll also be learning from experienced, supportive professionals who have trained mediators online and in person regularly for many years. They're here to help you, too, and now we have partnered with Mediator Network we can offer a multitude of post training support, including opportunities to co-mediate with other experienced mediators, and many other ways to help you market yourself as a mediator.
3 - Mediator training is based on a strong foundation of social science research that has documented how people can handle conflicts productively and satisfactorily.
A major strength of mediation is that it focuses on resolving the underlying issues in the conflict, not just the symptoms or behaviours that have resulted from those issues. In other words, mediators help parties in dispute get at the root causes of their dispute and work together to develop creative solutions.
Mediation can be cost-effective because it doesn't require expensive lawyers who spend most of their time arguing about legal technicalities instead of resolving disputes.
4 - The skills you learn in mediator training are transferable to many other professional settings.
If you're a lawyer, it will give you a new and valuable perspective on how to resolve disputes in your legal practice. If you're not a lawyer, but have ever been involved in conflict resolution or mediation, learning the principles of mediation can help improve your understanding of what goes into resolving conflicts and address many issues that arise at work or home.
This is because mediation is about providing options for people who are trying to find common ground, which means that it's an excellent skill set for anyone who wants their relationships with others to be healthy and productive. Alongside all the theory and process, the core concepts taught on mediator training include:
● listening carefully;
● asking the right questions at the right time;
● communicating clearly;
● empathising with others' feelings;
● planning ahead;
● dealing with anxiety when facing challenges or disagreements;
This means that if there was ever time where someone needed these skills (such as during negotiations), then they would have them at hand!
5 - Mediator training will give you skills that can improve all kinds of relationships, including with family and friends.
Mediator training is a transferable skill that can be applied in many different contexts, including with family and friends (though in my case my family always spot my attempts to mediate at home and quickly shoot me down!). The skills you learn will help you manage conflict, increase your job prospects, and give you personally rewarding work.
Conclusion
Mediator training is an excellent way to learn the skills you need to handle conflict in your personal and professional life. The skills you learn will help you manage conflicts more productively, reduce stress, and improve your relationships with others. Mediator training can also be a great career choice because it offers many exciting opportunities to work across multiple sectors in business, law, education, community and many other sectors. This is going to be increasingly the case as compulsory mediation becomes settled and more and more legal cases will be referred to mediation in the coming years.
Hunt ADR provides mediator training leading to Civil Mediation Council accreditation. We provide access to post training support from the Mediator Network. For details on how to train with us please visit our mediator training page now.