Accessing hidden information refers to the trust-based strategies the mediator employs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the relevant information from the parties, in accordance with confidentiality rules. This enables the parties to share insights, gain a full understanding of the situation, and prepare for the negotiations during the Validate Options stage.

Recognizing barriers to settlement refers to the techniques employed by the mediator to identify and openly discuss with the relevant parties the obstacles to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement.

Prioritizing interests is the process whereby the mediator facilitates an open and constructive discussion between the parties to enable them to clearly and accurately articulate their interests in a structured and ordered way, taking into account each party’s relative priority. Once this has occurred, the mediator can then use the ranked interests of all parties to a mediation as a baseline standard for evaluating the options and solutions discussed by the parties.

Exploring alternatives to a negotiated agreement refers to discussions the mediator has with the parties, usually during the private sessions, about the other alternatives they have to solve the issues if they are unable to reach agreement during the mediation process. The objective of this process is to prepare participants for the potential value-creating opportunities or possible trade-offs that may be required for a settlement. It also ensures that they have truly explored their other alternatives and the resources required to follow them. This strategy involves discussing risk, which requires highly sensitive language and impeccable timing on the part of the mediators.

Summarize, confidentiality and “homework” (or SCH) is a strategic protocol that mediators can use at the end of every private session. This protocol refers to (S) a brief summary that the mediator makes at the end of each private session to reflect the discussions held, the information, questions or proposals to be shared with the other party, if any, (C) the specific information disclosed by one party privately to the mediator that needs to be kept confidential from the other party, and (H) the meaningful task of homework that the mediator will assign to the party that will be left alone, so that they will still feel part of the process. The ultimate goal of the above is to reinforce the cooperation and trust that has been developed throughout the process, and to allow the parties to take something away from the meeting to focus on until the next meeting.