40-Hour General Civil Mediation Training

This 5-day State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) approved training is designed to teach participants the skills necessary to act as mediators in facilitating the resolution of disputes. This training is the first step for any individual who wishes to mediate privately or qualify for the circuit court roster approved list of mediators. Participants will receive a detailed mediation manual and a jump-drive containing reproducible mediation forms. By the end of this training participants will be able to:

1. Identify the various conflict management styles and how they can be used in dealing with conflict.
2. Interpret nonverbal communication effectively to understand the messages being conveyed.
3. Listen effectively using critical active-listening skills.
4. Define issues, positions, interests, and emotions and explore why they are important in mediation.
5. Ask effective questions to clarify, identify issues and provide new insight or meanings.
6. Manage the emotional climate in mediation and manage power imbalances and conditions.
7. Set the tone, establish ground rules and guidelines for the mediation session.
8. Build an agenda that identifies and prioritizes the issues to be mediated. 
9. Guide the parties through the collaborative problem-solving work of negotiation.
10. Understand the mechanics of writing the settlement agreement and closure of the mediation process.