Welcome to this ‘Mediation Quick Tips’ Newsletter Issue 23
KEEP Safe Challenging Questions – Risk Aversion
Be aware of the Concept of Risk (Loss) Aversion when posing a question as it can make the difference between a party accepting or rejecting an offer.
Studies on negotiation have established that parties make different decisions about risk, depending upon whether they view that risk as a possible gain or a possible loss. This, in turn, will determine whether they experience an approach-reward reflex or a an avoid-threat reflex. If a party loses ten dollars, they register a higher level of threat response than the level of reward response they register if they find ten dollars.
NOTE!
The 2nd Edition of ‘The Mediator’s Toolkit: Formulating and Asking Questions for Successful Outcomes’, published 10th June 2025 can be ordered on amazon.com or waterstones.com or on amazon.co.uk and other well known websites.
Next O’Sullivan Solutions online advanced mediation courses:
October 9, 10, 16, 17 – 2025
February 5, 6, 12, 13 – 2026
Time Schedule for all advanced mediation courses:
Irish Standard Time: / GMT: 1.30pm -5.30pm
Four half days – Live zoom course
advanced level mediator training
Managing the Concept of Risk (Loss) Aversion When Posing a Question
Ensure that your question is formulated in a way that focuses on gain rather than on loss.
Example:
If a party is looking for a settlement figure of $100,000 and the other side is offering $75,000, then the party will react more positively to a question that is phrased as a gain, rather than to a loss, even though the numerical value is the same:
An offer perceived as a gain:
You have a definite offer of $75,000 which is a certain payment… how might you respond to this offer?
An offer perceived as a loss:
You have an offer that is $25,000 less than you had hoped to receive…how might you respond to this offer?
A mediator needs to know the effect of any question that focuses on loss as opposed to gain, so that when a party seems to only focus on what they may lose compared to what they may gain, the mediator will be able to address this with some comparative and reality-testing questions so that the feeling of threat is minimized for that party. This is pertinent to all types of cases, not just ones involviing finance.
Next Newsletter
What can you do when a party uses negative language that may unsettle the other party and could potentially reverse the progress made in mediation?
NOTE!
The 2nd Edition of ‘The Mediator’s Toolkit: Formulating and Asking Questions for Successful Outcomes’, published 10th June 2025 can be ordered on amazon.com or waterstones.com or on amazon.co.uk and other well known websites.
Next O’Sullivan Solutions online advanced mediation courses:
October 9, 10, 16, 17 – 2025
February 5, 6, 12, 13 – 2026
Time Schedule for all advanced mediation courses:
Irish Standard Time: / GMT: 1.30pm -5.30pm
Four half days – Live zoom course
advanced level mediator training
