When the stakes are high, the preparation from applied improvisation methodology training allows the brain to manage emotions more effectively and stay focused on building upon what the others are saying. In it’s place at the right time, practice in AIM during low-stakes periods prepare you for the high-stakes scenarios.
Eric Vigo
Managing Director and Founder of Rebooter Group
Originally authored by
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. The use of applied improvisation give the mediator a way out when they can be boxed in by the words of the opposing party.
2. Applied improvisation gives the mediator free reign to find common ground and space for the other party to be heard. Being heard is sometimes half the battle.
3.Applied improvisation arms the mediator’s creativity for high-stakes scenarios, potentially giving them the edge on their opposing party.
Integrating the Applied Improvisation Methodology (AIM) into Mediation
This article explores the potential benefits of integrating Applied Improvisational Methodologies (AIM) into both mediation training and practice. The goal is to enhance mediators’ skills in several key areas, such as spontaneity, listening, and respectful collaboration.
These skills are essential, even though the adversarial legal system emphasizes different skills for its practitioners. Drawing on insights from AIM and its use in education, particularly conflict resolution, this article shows a path for how mediators can use AIM to succeed in any conflict.
Benefits of Learning AIM for Mediation Practice
The quote highlights how improvisation’s focus on spontaneity aligns with the unpredictable nature of mediation: “Just as in a mediation or negotiation, there are unscripted dialogues. Selecting a position or calculating the other side’s interests ahead of time can block spontaneity and lead to impasse.”
Unlike litigation’s rigid procedures, mediation’s flexibility leans more towards creative solutions by moving beyond problem-solving to a narrative focus on relationships.
AIM equips mediators with the ability to provide creative responses to shifting narratives. Like unscripted actors, mediators adapt to the dynamic sessions, navigating emotional complexities with spontaneity, empathy, and self-reflection.
By embracing AIM, mediators can use story and dialogue to transform conflicts by:
- Expanding their capacity to experiment with different solutions.
- Having space for reflection afterward.
- Creating interventions specifically attuned to the situation and parties involved.
AIM Pathways Relevant to Mediators: Spontaneity, Openness, Respect, and Curiosity
AIM sharpens focus on the immediate moment, leading to more adaptable and spontaneous responses. The “yes-and” technique, which accepts (“yes”) and builds upon (“and”), helps mediators build on suggestions, even phrasing a “no” as a “yes-and” while maintaining their position of “no.” “Yes-and” thrives on curiosity and creativity, and is useful in both low and high-stakes scenarios. By adapting to whatever comes their way, AIM frees the person to explore possibilities and develop flexibility of thought. This also helps the mediator avoid biases and maintain respect for the other side, fostering a sense of collaboration.
Communication
The quote emphasizes listening as a core principle in both AIM and mediation: “Listening intuitively is the key to AIM. AIM is what we do when we carry on a conversation with others or when we enter into a negotiation or mediation.”
Another quote showcases how AIM activities highlight the importance of active listening: “Facilitating listening activities enables the players to observe the consequences of not listening. In a playful setting, this conflict leads to big laughs. In real life, this conflict leads to the courts.“1
Becoming Unstuck in Tense Situations
The following quote draws a parallel between getting stuck in AIM and reaching an impasse during mediation, where both require similar approaches to move forward: “The point at which the players do not know what to say is the starting point for improvisation. It is the point at which they turn to each other to look for clues for moving forward. It is the impasse point in a mediation or negotiation.“1
Finding Common Ground with the Unwilling Party
One of the most significant challenges a mediator faces is fostering collaboration when the other party involved has no initial interest in working together. While using logic and reason to convince the resistant party of the benefits of compromise is more standard, AIM bridges that gap and creates an environment conducive to collaboration, even in the face of sustained opposition.
Here’s how AIM’s “yes-and” principle comes into play: you accept what is offered, even negativity, and build upon it. This is because of AIM’s inherent “playfulness.” Mediators can translate this principle into acknowledging the other party’s stance, frustrations, or even anger, without judgment. By validating their emotions, the mediator creates a safer space for open communication, a crucial first step towards collaboration.
Use of "yes-and" and Other AIM Activities in Effective Mediation
Identify underlying concerns and hidden interests.
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Subtly shift the focus from entrenched positions towards exploring common ground.
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Disarm hostility.
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Introduce lightheartedness
This helps remind the parties of their shared humanity. This shift in atmosphere can open doors for collaboration that may have been previously slammed shut.
This simple activity can profoundly impact how the brain learns to take in new information.
An example in action: One Word Game
Certain activities train the brain to be spontaneous under stress.
A group of 3-8 people builds stories one word at a time.
Each person adds a word to the previous word to create or finish a sentence. The activity doesn’t block or judge any word; it’s accepted and built upon by the next person.
No one can decide they dislike the direction and throw in another word.
Keep looping until story comes to a natural end, or you need to get on with other things.
AIM Doesn't Guarantee Immediate Agreement, But It Paves the Way
While AIM doesn’t guarantee immediate agreement, it paves the way for collaboration, even with an initially unwilling party. This transforms the mediator into a facilitator, guiding the conversation towards a space where both sides feel heard and respected, creating fertile ground for potential solutions to emerge.
In Summary
This means that when the stakes are high, the preparation from AIM training allows the brain to manage emotions more effectively and stay focused on building upon what the others are saying. In it’s place at the right time, practice in AIM during low-stakes periods prepare you for the high-stakes scenarios.
References
①
Debra Gerardi (9/2001), ‘Using Improvisation to Develop Conflict Resolution Skills’, Mediate’, https://www.mediate.com/articles/geradi1.cfm
