What's Happening in Conflict Resolution" is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more. Check it out each week and view past versions [HERE].

Reduce resistance to an idea with this language shift

When you want an idea to be considered on its merits, it can be very hard to overcome two aspects of human nature that get in the way. If you want to reduce resistance and create space for the idea to get thoughtful consideration, how you frame your proposal can make all the difference.

Imagine walking into a new cafe. As you look through the menu, you see it’s chock full of fabulous treats that have your mouth watering in anticipation. Some items are noticeably more expensive than others. You see those items have a red asterisk next to the price.

Your eyes travel to the bottom of the menu, where the red asterisk is explained. Apparently there’s a new tax on unhealthy items.

Which menu item are you more likely to order — one not being taxed or one being taxed as an unhealthy food?

Nobody puts Baby in a corner

Chances are, you’re going to order one of the “sin tax” foods. Just to show them who’s boss. Maybe you even think to yourself, as I might, Nobody puts Baby in a corner!

Read more [HERE]. 

Does ancient 'conflict resolution' village hold key to U.S.-Iran talks?

Abyaneh, Iran (CNN)The elderly lady struggles to walk up a steep alley in the ancient Iranian village of Abyaneh. It's almost painful to watch as she puts her whole weight onto her walking stick to try to propel herself up the incline.

...Abyaneh's culture of "live and let live" developed over the centuries; the village was subject to a lot of change but always maintained its core identity.

..."We have a story here in Abyaneh," says Reza Alirezai, the head of the city council. "A man and a woman come to court because they have a dispute. Then the judge sees the woman tying the man's shoelaces and he thinks the conflict has been resolved. He asks them and they say that the conflict is still ongoing, but that doesn't mean that she can't help her husband tie his shoe."

Read more from CNN and watch the short video clip [HERE].

#RenoACR15: Party Safety, Data & Complex Public Policy, Practicing What You...

This year’s Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) national conference features more than 120 speakers on diverse conflict resolution topics in over 75 sessions.  Join more than 400 other conflict resolution practitioners this October in Reno, Nevada from October 7-10.

Here is a brief glimpse of four of the many exciting sessions that are being offered: 

• Abusive, Controlling, & Volatile Parties: Safeguarding the Parties and the Process
• How To Integrate Scientific Information Into Complex Public Policy Consensus Seeking Processes
• Tools to Prove You Practice What You Preach
• The Language of Money: Helping Parties Negotiate Money Matters

Brad Heckman is NOT endorsing soviet-style communism in this post but…

Following the brutal ouster of Russian Tsar Nicholas in 1917, a bunch of revolutionaries debated about what Russia needed most in the wake of the revolution. Various intellectuals gave long-winded spiels with many fancy words. As legend has it, Vladimir Lenin, soon to be the first leader of the Soviet Union, got up and gave this 3-word speech (which I illustrated above):

Land. Bread. Peace.

(In my mind this was followed by “Lenin out” and a mic drop).

Again, I’m not endorsing Leninism, or any other -ism here. But there is a useful take-away from this story for mediators.

Read more [HERE]. 

Thinking Fast and Slow in Mediation

Gregory Firestone, Ph.D. (Director, University of South Florida Conflict Resolution Collaborative) shares the following overview of his session:

This interactive workshop will introduce participants to the field of behavioral economics including concepts described by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, in his best-selling book, Thinking Fast and Slow. Participants will have a chance to understand human factors uncovered in the study of human decision making and explore the relevance of behavioral economics to the practice of mediation. Such concepts as loss aversion, anchoring, judgment heuristics, and decision weights will be introduced and implications for mediation ethics and practice will be discussed.

Read more: http://reno.acrnet.org/8

Job: Associate Ombuds, Dept of Energy

Job: Assistant Ombudsman at American Red Cross

Echo Chamber or Boomerang?

The Olive Branch Blog- 

I have been a solo operator for a long time. I started my company in late 2000 and have spent the last 15 years working for myself. This week, I am hiring my first full-time employee, which made me realize that things are gonna change.

There will be more responsibility along with lots of benefits.

But, more importantly, I wondered about the kind of boss I would I be?

It’s been a while since I had someone reporting directly to me.

I started thinking about all of then while watching a PBS documentary about Henry Ford. What a fascinating man he was. I alternated between admiring him and really disliking him.

Story after story illustrated that it was ‘Ford’s way or the highway.’

Read more [HERE].