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TOT 215-WEEK 215
“Inculcating the skill of acknowledgment”
Acknowledgment is an integral part of healthy communication. Weaving It in to the process of mediation is an art.
It is really challenging for a trainer to train the mediators to be, to get trained in this particular skill. Summarising should have strong elements of acknowledgment. It is in this context during presentation on the topic of acknowledgment and later during coaching sessions , trainer has to make it a point to see to it that , trainees use acknowledgment as part of their summarising., and also see to it that a proper atmosphere is set in for the parties to acknowledge each other’s stand point in a healthy and productive manner.
At times, acknowledgment can also be used as a prelude to setting an atmosphere.
In the theory session the trainer has to deal with two elements related to acknowledgment , namely, (i) Identification (ii) Recognition.
Trainer’s responsibility:-
STEP-1
Trainer has to watch:
- Aftert the narrative is given by a party, while summarising , whether the trainee has identified what was required to be identified ( from the perspective of the party giving the narrative) from the narrative given by the party (ii) Whether such recognition was satisfactory ( from the perspective of the Party giving the narrative) .
- If need be , trainer has to coach wherever it is necessary.
STEP-2
Providing an atmosphere for bringing emphathetic connection between the parties:
Trainer has to oversee (i)whether the trainee sets an atmosphere for plenary/joint session between the parties.
(ii) Whether one party acknowledges ( after listening to the other party ‘s narratives) what needs to be acknowledged .
- Whether the party giving the narrative feels satisfied that his view points/efforts/ intentions are acknowledged in the right perspective, because those were identified and recognised by the other party, through the reply given by the other party .
Twin elements: Understanding the importance of acknowledgement by the mediator is important.
But it is equally important to set an atmosphere to see to it that there is an element of mutual acknowledgment between the parties.
Benefits:
Trainer has to bring in the advantages of acknolwedgment while debriefing :-
For Example:-
Parties feel connected
It heals the wounds in some situations, where one acknowledges acts of wrong doing /mistakes committed.
“A wound that goes unacknowledged and unwept is a wound that cannot heal.”
John Eldredge- American Author and Counselor
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(All copyrights reserved by the author S.Susheela)
Training of Trainers in Mediation 