Deadlocks can happen in negotiations. If you reach an impasse in your mediation, not all is lost. There are things we can try, together:

• Reframe options – from negative to positive
• Challenge the parties on their positions and reality test options
• Encourage parties to consider compromise, on a reciprocal basis
• Review what impasse will mean for costs (and other benefits/detriments) in finding a solution compared with walking away from the negotiation
• Ask more questions!
• Soften demands by seeking clarification and more information
• Draw a flowchart – sometimes seeing options visually helps
• Take a break, or move on to a different issue
• Assist the parties to find a range of acceptance (in financial disputes & matters resolved by monetary means). This is called bracketing.

And there are many others…

Our job as mediators is to keep communication open and moving and identify options for resolving the parties may have missed.

Have you experienced an impasse in a dispute? What did you do to break it?