I attended a blogging conference last weekend (note: this post was written in 2007), a first for me. It was SOBCon ‘07 and the sense of community and affiliation in the room was powerful. It turns out that relationship bloggers hug as much as some mediators, and this bunch was just as good at creating meaningful conversation.

During one of the many excellent discussions between presenters and the 110 bloggers in the audience, Lisa Gates of 360 Alliance Coaching) said, “In improv, the rule is to accept the offer and move it forward.”

It struck me as really apropos for mediators, too. Accept what the parties offer you next, and move it forward. This keeps you running ahead of your parties, helps you learn not to listen with your answer running, and helps keep you in the present moment (after all, that’s where the gems are).

This post was originally written in May 2007 for Mastering Mediation Blog.

Making Mediation Your Day Job by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at MakingMediationYourDayJob.Lenski.com.