In this week’s episode we will discuss do you have What It Takes To Be a Mediator with Kimberly Best, a registered nurse, mediator, and conflict coach based in Franklin, TN and author of How to Live Forever - A guide to writing the final chapter of your life story and Elliot Herland, a mediator focused on workers’ compensation cases, based in Minneapolis, and Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Membership Committee.
In this week’s episode we will discuss do you have What It Takes To Be a Mediator with Kimberly Best, a registered nurse, mediator, and conflict coach based in Franklin, TN and author of How to Live Forever - A guide to writing the final chapter of your life story and Elliot Herland, a mediator focused on workers’ compensation cases, based in Minneapolis, and Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Membership Committee.
COVID-19 is definitely a topic most on people’s minds in 2020.
Many challenges exist in resolving workplace injury claims, specifically around COVID-19 and other non-acute occupational diseases.
To address the myriad of issues facing employers, employees and their legal representatives in this unprecedented time, we invited Labor Specialist Elliot Herland, Esq. to join us for the newest Mindset Mondays Podcast.
I was recently a guest on “The Learn to Mediate Online Podcast” hosted by Susan Guthrie, Esq., on the topic of making the pivot to Zoom mediation.
On this episode, Host and Online Mediation Expert, Susan Guthrie is joined by veteran Workers' Compensation Mediator, Elliot Herland who describes his journey from online mediation novice to seasoned veteran of ODR and the many ways going online has been a "joy-generator" for him.
Articles recently shared on LinkedIn and elsewhere, provide many tips for effectively using Zoom to conduct mediation sessions. One tip: Put a Post-it note above the camera so you look at it when communicating with the people on the screen. This is an interesting lesson.
Body language is important when conducting a mediation. Eye contact is vital to understanding it. When you look at a person's face on your Zoom screen you're actually looking up, down or to either side of the screen. You need to look into the camera to make eye contact. That little piece of paper reminds you to do that.
Most of my clients are busy attorneys. They are nice people, but they are busy. We are all polite, but WE ARE ALL BUSY.
If we were talking in person, on the phone, or while using Zoom during an online mediation or meeting, then saying hello, thank you, and other friendly exchanges would be fine. We could end it naturally enough and move on to the next task on our list. No need to say "EOC", which means "end of chain", which translates into "stop sending me email replies because you are taking up my time and I'm a busy attorney with a gazillion more of these emails besides what I have on my desk, in my voice mail and out in my yard!!"
For many years I explained the mediation process as a journey. I used Wall Drug as the destination and the bumper sticker as a distraction along the way. I thought it was a great analogy, a clever one, that really helped people understand the process so it would be more clear and less stressful. I thought the analogy would calm people, reduce emotions and build rapport. I thought I was really smart, but I was the one chasing a bumper sticker.
Thankfully the awareness and acceptance of mental illness has increased in our society. More people are accepting the reality that our workforce has a fair number of people who are dealing with a diagnosis. Hopefully a majority of them are getting the care and support they need to be healthy, productive and, yes, happy individuals. Some of these people get involved in a work injury claim and are introduced to the potentially complex world of workers compensation law.
