Stage 2 Skills ---Exploration

• Facilitation the appropriate transition to the stage from the previous stage from the previous                 stage
• Facilitating the gathering and exchanging of information
• Establishing a balanced understanding by the parties on the information obtained
• Respecting and managing differences of position
• Facilitating and managing the demonstration of emotions and feeling to allow the process to               move forward
• Facilitating parties acknowledgement of each others perspectives
• Establishing common ground where agreement is possible

Process during Exploration Phase

• Exploring the problems with more open ended questions
• Understanding the parties needs and help them move from the historic past to a common vision           of the future
• Give the parties time and opportunity to event out their emotions and feeling
• Writing down focal points of the issue/problem
• Ask which points they give more importance
• Private and joint meetings
• Creative and building a rapport so that they can develop confidence and trust in you and the                 mediation process
• Finding out the core of the problem (peeling the onion)
• In confidence, discuss the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the party’s case
• Explore the party’s perception of the case
• Engage them into discussion not interrogation

Tools to be used during Exploration Phase

• Active listening and understanding
• Effective questioning
• Clarifying
• Summarizing (reflecting/rephrasing)
• Acknowledge positions
• Future focused

Stage 3 to be continued….