In this chapter, we have looked at the key principles of mediation and how these apply to the process itself. Each stage of the process has been explored with guidance provided for the key stages, including how and where the skills that we looked at in Chapter 2, Mediator Skill Set, come into play. You now have skills and knowledge of the process to put all this into action and start to gain the experience necessary to develop your skills. As you practice your skills, it is important to reflect on every mediation session you undertake so that you continuously improve and gain from each experience. This is particularly necessary as, due to the nature of the process, it is not possible to get any real feedback from others. Good questions to ask yourself following any mediation are: "what went well….what did not go so well….. what would I do differently and how can I improve"?.

In the next chapter, we will look at how the mediation skills and elements of the full process can be used to improve your conflict resolution skills on a day-to-day basis.