WHEN PREPARING FOR MEDIATION, or during a mediation process, a mediator needs to ensure that the questions they develop are strategic, relevant and appropriate.
They need to be able to anticipate, as much as possible, the kind of responses that people may have when asked specific types of questions in case a question inadvertently triggers an amygdala hijack. It is always wise to first try out any sensitive question in a separate private meeting before asking it at a joint meeting, so that parties do not feel threatened, vulnerable or unsafe at a joint meeting.
A mediator can prepare by reflecting on some questions...
✓ What might I need to ask questions about?
✓ What might parties need to ask each other about?
✓ What might I need to know? What might parties need to know?
✓ What might I know already? What might parties know already?
✓ What might I not know? What might parties not know?
✓ What might I think I know, and where is my evidence for this? What do parties think they know, and what might be their evidence for this?
✓ How will I find out what I might not know?
✓ Is there a question that is not obvious to me?
✓ What do I want each of these questions to do or to achieve?
✓ Is there another question or a deeper question that I could ask?
✓ At what forum should I ask any of these questions: initial separate meetings, joint meeting or at separate meetings during the joint meeting?
Chapter 1 gave an overview of the S Questions Model. This chapter gives comprehensive information on how to use the model and on the purpose, development and application of each of the S1, S2, S3 and S4 dimensions of it. To recap, the model was developed to incorporate an extensive range of questions that can be asked in a mediation process into one clear and accessible image.
There are four dimensions of questions in the S Questions Model and these are categorized and labeled as follows:
■ S1: Subject Matter Dimension of questions
■ S2: Structure Dimension of questions
■ S3: Seeking Information Dimension of questions
■ S4: Shift Thinking Dimension of questions
All questions incorporate the S1: Subject Matter Dimension of questions and can be asked about the people involved in the conflict; the environment or context in which the conflict takes place; the problem or issue presented to mediation; and the interaction of the people, the environment and the problem.
All questions have an S2: Structure Dimension of questions incorporated in them, in that an open or closed question may be chosen. After first deciding the subject matter and the structure of a question, the choice is then between asking an S3 or an S4 question, or a combination of both.
These are simple, linear questions that clarify existing information or introduce information that is either previously known, or is not already known, by each of the parties. An S3 question strategically targets the information that is required from the parties for the conversations that take place during a mediation process.
These questions are designed to uncover information that specifically creates new insight for the parties. The intention is to shift their thinking so that they experience a paradigm shift and look at the other party and their conflict in a different light.
While there are eight S4 questions and they are presented in the model in a certain order, each one is a stand-alone question with its own unique purpose. Each S4 category of questions may also be linked with each of the other seven categories to achieve a specific outcome. In general, the S4 questions move from hearing what happened and how a party interpreted it and acted upon it, to distilling and exploring the information presented, to making connections with other experiences or events. The questions help to identify any inner conflict or inconsistencies within a party, to safely teasing out alternative perspectives. They identify the core of a problem and facilitate the creation of a future without the problems of the past.
