The goal of understanding the real problem is to shed light on the underlying issues that lie deeper than the superficial conflicts and to better understand the dynamics of the parties and how they can be changed in the future.

Exploring and prioritizing parties’ interests refers to the process of encouraging parties to share the interests and needs underlying the positions they have expressed so far and to verbalize the full range of their interests, with the ultimate aim of ranking these interests succinctly.

Facilitating shared learning involves creating an environment in which parties can share information, perspectives and insights to improve their mutual understanding and make informed decisions. To achieve this goal, the process that enables a storytelling environment, reflective learning and promotes a learning mindset, would ultimately need to be adapted to the specific dynamics of the parties.

The redesign of the process is aimed at ensuring that the procedural steps that have been agreed upon at the beginning of the mediation properly reflect the ongoing dynamics between the parties and are readjusted according to the exchanges that are taking place. This objective in itself is an adjunct to the other objectives customary for this phase and seeks to ensure that the steps taken are the most appropriate in terms of efficiency.

The use of objective criteria refers to the process of selecting measurable, quantifiable and impartial standards that the mediator helps the parties to identify as part of the process in order to assess the fairness of possible solutions and to make informed decisions based on them.

Assisting the participants to achieve their goals for the Listen & Understand phase is the process by which the mediator ensures that the discussion between the parties is open, including their needs and interests, and facilitates the learning process involved.