Mediation provides an opportunity for disagreeing parties to resolve their dispute. The mediator facilitates the discussion and acts as a middleman to assist in the negotiations, but cannot dictate the terms of any resolution. To increase the chances of reaching a resolution, the parties should prepare prior to the mediation.

Research the Mediator. Even if the parties select the mediator, it is important to understand the mediator’s background. Even though the mediator only facilitates the discussion, the mediator will impact what and how issues are discussed, which can affect the ultimate resolution. The mediator may be excellent at dispute resolution, but may lack technical expertise in the area of dispute. In this case, it may be beneficial to bring an expert to assist with explaining the issues.
Support the Facts. It is helpful to identify the most important points that support your position. If there are questions about payments, make sure to gather copies of all payment records and review them before the mediation. If the dispute involves damaged property, put together pictures and/or videos of the damages and bring estimates of repair costs. The point is to understand your position and have the necessary “evidence” to support your statements.
Understand the Opposition. View the dispute through the eyes of the opposition and try to determine what they want to accomplish. Does the opposition understand the same key issues? Also, it is beneficial to know if issues that are unrelated to the dispute will be relevant to reaching a resolution. For example, the opposition could be in a hurry to resolve the dispute to make sure another deal is consummated. Alternatively, the opposition may be in no hurry to reach a resolution because taxes dictate the need to delay the financial impact.
Identify Resolutions. Reaching an agreement where someone pays money is often the resolution, but an exchange of other items, such as services, can also be important to reaching a resolution. Also, specific points that can be resolved should be identified, so that even if the entire dispute is not resolved, at least the dispute is narrower.
Develop Alternative Strategies. Based on information gathered, it is helpful to identify several resolution scenarios that would be acceptable and possible strategies to reach those resolutions. For example, where there are multiple parties to the mediation, it could be beneficial to align with similarly situated parties to gain leverage. However, the most important strategy is to remember to remain open minded.