PATIENCE v LAW SURVEY 2021-03-09

Last week’s email asked folks what they say is the most important characteristic for a mediator and they were given three choices to choose from: PATIENCE; KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW or OTHER

The survey generated a total of 72 clicks or responses from 48 people responding to the survey.  That is the largest number of respondents for any previous RIMA Survey.    

Some people selected “PATIENCE”, some selected “KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW”, and some selected “OTHER”.  Counting Clicks, the breakdown looks like this:

With 47% of clicks for “PATIENCE’; 30% of Clicks for “KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW” AND 28% of clicks for “OTHER”. 

The result is not surprising.  After all, in her 2015 keynote speech "Keys to a Successful Mediation" before the RI Mediators Association, Hon. Alice Gibney, Presiding Justice of RI Superior Court, emphasized “Mediator Patience” as a central characteristic she had observed, over the years, in successful mediations. 

I guess we always intended to look a little deeper into the responses for several reasons:

At first glance, the survey presents Binary Choice – PATIENCE or THE LAW

In appearance, the choices are stark and “PATIENCE” is presented first and in the top position. Did that influence people’s choice?   

Would people reject the idea of this either/or style of presentation

There was no context created for the questions as presented, nor was there any quantitative or qualitative context in response to choices.  People were thanked for responding, and left on their own with whatever feelings they brought into the survey.

Noting that some people voted more than once, we wondered what was their intent?  ow stromg was their intent? Were they trying to make a strong statement or merely clicking on everything? 

We then attempted to “Normalize” the Survey

It seems clear that people voted with intent with a Law Professor clicking “PATIENCE”, “PATIENCE”, “PATIENCE” – definitely showing intent.

The 30% choosing “OTHER” were, perhaps, screaming “It’s more complicated than that”   

E-Mail your thoughts to Exec@RIMediators.org 

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