Many face-to-face mediators have mixed feelings about online mediation. Some of them are curious, some skeptical, and some afraid it might be “too complicated”.

For them, soon after our recent forum “Mediation via Skype” we decided to run and video record the online mediation of a typical residential landlord/tenant case for unpaid rent. It’s a case very similar to those mediated every day in Hawaii District Courts.

Our “quick-and-dirty” 24-min video shows not only how joint and private sessions can be conducted via Skype. It also shows how a mediator can prepare and share documents (in our case, a Settlement Draft) online with the parties.

Considered how many people already use computers and devices with video capabilities – e.g. Ipad, Iphone, Android tablets and smart phones – we hope that video recordings like ours (no matter how amateurish) can convince more mediators to take a closer look at online mediation. And therefore, they will be more willing to learn:

>> How online mediation works
>> How it can be integrated with mediation by phone, by email, and face-to-face
>> Which additional skills it requires
>> How online mediation can open up new market opportunities for mediators

Giuseppe Leone
PS: Virtual Mediation Lab is a pilot project sponsored by the Association for Conflict Resolution - Hawaii Chapter.

http://goo.gl/xePAZ