Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Comm. majors being good mediators



A mediator is a neutral third party who has no decision-making power regarding the outcome of the mediation (Pg. 197).Communication majors would make good mediators because all of the effective behaviors that a good mediator requires are things that a communication major studies, for example, how to be a good listener, and be open-minded. Being a mediator allows you to be relationship-centered and all of the good qualities that a good communicator has. Psychotherapists wouldn’t make good mediators because as the book states, “Mediators must resist he temptation to solve the disputants problem” and a psychotherapists are meant to help solve others issues. This is the same reason lawyers wouldn’t make a good mediator as well as, lawyers aren’t willing to find a common ground, they are more assertive in the “ I win you, lose” aspect. Lawyers fight for their clients to be innocent. Overall, communication major learn how to be effective in communication and are all about compromising and finding a common goal, which is part of being a good mediator.

4 comments:

  1. Hello,

    I want to start off by letting you know I thought this was an awesome post. I really like how you started your blog off with a reference from the book. To me that proves that you read the chapter and are really invested in the course. I really liked how you clearly stated that psychotherapists and lawyers wouldn't make good mediators. I also really like how you states "mediators must resist the temptation to solve the disputants problem." Overall, I thought this was a very good blog. Keep up the good work!

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  2. Hey California girl,

    I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job on your post. I also feel that communication majors are better mediators than people who study other subjects. As you stated communication majors are good listeners. This is also something that I put in my post. I said that to be a good listener we must show the speaker that we are listening. For example nodding and making eye contact can show the speaker that you are listening. So, being a communication major, he or she is able to learn concepts, skills and theories about communication.

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  3. Hi,
    Great post and you did a good job on explain what a mediator does. A mediator is a neutral third party person who helps people with their conflict to find an agreement. They don’t sides but rather stay in the middle to help people work out their problems. A lawyer wouldn’t make a good mediator since they are more one sided and want to “win” like you mentioned. I also agree with you about psychotherapists not making good mediators either. Communication majors would make good mediators since they study a lot about effective behaviors and how to deal with different situations. I think you did do a great job explaining everything and I agree with you. Great post!

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  4. Hey Britt Victoria,
    I think you nailed it. As communication majors we are trained for this type of thing. We have spent many classes learning how to listen and how to be open-minded to those we are working with in a team or a confrontational issue. We've got this!! Yesterday my mom was asking me a question about how she should go about telling someone something which could be construed as negative and I had to laugh because I was using all of my comm skills. It's nice having a major that is actually applicable to real life! :)As far as those other professions, yea, not the right people for the job - but that's what we're here for!
    Thanks for sharing - Kenzie Marie

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