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CS Professional · Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation · Negotiation Skills and Communication

In a mediation, Rohan Engineering's counsel tells Meera Infra, 'Your delay was deliberate and dishonest.' Meera, who had earlier been willing to settle, now refuses to discuss any offer and demands an apology first. As mediator, which barrier has most clearly arisen, and what is the best immediate step?

This is an emotional barrier created by an accusatory remark. The mediator should acknowledge Meera's feelings, reframe the accusation in neutral language and steer the discussion back to interests. Changing rooms, defining words or cutting documents would not address the anger that is blocking settlement talks.

  1. AEmotional barrier; the mediator should acknowledge the feelings, reframe the statement neutrally and refocus on interestsCorrect
  2. BSemantic barrier; the mediator should supply a dictionary meaning of 'deliberate'
  3. CPhysical barrier; the mediator should shift the venue to a larger room
  4. DInformation overload; the mediator should reduce the number of documents

Explanation

The accusation triggered anger and defensiveness, which is an emotional barrier. A mediator handles it by acknowledging emotions, reframing accusatory language into neutral terms and returning parties to underlying interests. Changing the venue or explaining words does not address the hostility.

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