Bruised by a dispute with your neighbor?
The
occasional conflict is a natural byproduct of living very close to one another.
It’s possible to get your disagreement resolved before it escalates and certainly
before you end up in court. You should
consider mediation—a process that can save you money and aggravation and
lead to more peaceful community environment.
In mediation, a neutral third party meets with you and your
neighbor, often in an informal setting, to keep everyone focused on solving the
problem. Mediation works particularly well by managing expectations; and, generally,
the dispute is resolved within a day.
For example, let’s say you’re battling your upstairs neighbor
about noise. She works until 2 a.m. and infuriates you by walking around her
unit in the wee hours of the morning. Through mediation, each of you can talk,
listen and learn about each other. She agrees to take off her shoes when she
gets home; and you can call when there is a problem.
A mediators’ first task is to understand how and why the conflict
escalated. He or she is trained to search through highly charged responses to
understand the crux of the problem. Mediation is about compromise. Be willing
to learn and hear. Be open-minded. Mediation tends to fail when people can't
get beyond their emotions.
If you go to court, one of you will win and one will lose. If you
mediate your differences, both of you will find consensus-based, creative
solutions to your problems. And that allows for more harmony in the community.
You can find a qualified mediator in our area by searching on
“mediators” in your web browser or in the Yellow Pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment