What electronic means can we use to manage a conflict in online mediation? Before analyzing the possible electronic means that we can use, we should analyze the general characteristics of working online:
- Impersonality
- Emotions are missing
- Asynchronous or Synchronous
- Immediacy
- Lack of non-verbal communication
Thus, when we communicate or work through electronic means, the personal nature of a mediation is diminished, we lose that seal that a face-to-face session gives with the analysis of both the professional and the parties in conflict; It is important to try to make up for this lack by trying to ensure that the mediator's message, especially in the initial moments, contains everyday elements that normalize communication through these electronic media. The same thing happens with emotions that lose that spontaneity so characteristic of the reaction that can occur to any message received, which is why the type of questions that the mediator uses in his work, which will try to collect those emotions, play a crucial role.
The synchronous or asynchronous nature of network mediation will be determined by the use of one or another means of communication and this will mean that the mediator's work has different objectives. Thus, a message received through email will not have the same work as a message received in videoconference, with the mediator in both cases having to transmit the information in different ways. In our opinion, immediacy is one of the weak points of network mediation because if face-to-face mediation uses anything, it is the principle of action vs reaction that gives enormous information to the team of mediators who are working on the conflict.
Lastly, and difficult to solve, is the lack of verbal communication when using electronic media. However, as we have been announcing throughout the class, it will be the mediator who must define a strategy that addresses this lack and allows the parties to react to conflictive situations that provoke reactions that they must share in the network mediation work. .
Having said the above, we can list what electronic means we can use in a network mediation:
- Mail. – seems the most professional method and may have certain advantages when defining positions and agreement proposals. Now, we must bear in mind that the asynchronous nature of working with emails necessarily implies that, if it is accepted as a networking tool, it will have to have the following inter-parte agreements:
- Communication with copy between the parties
- Agreed response times, for example, 72 hours
- Video call. – This tool will be the closest to in-person mediation and, therefore, will make the parties feel comfortable when they confirm that it is their interest to use it in the conflict management process. The mediator must be aware of the speaking times and, upon acceptance by the parties, use a secure platform with guarantees for everyone.
- Chat. – This tool will always serve as a complement to another electronic medium because it will serve to make notes while the other party is making statements or when confirming information that has been discussed, through video call, for example.
- WhatsApp. – In our opinion, this may be the tool that can pose the most problems in the exercise of conflict management. It may be designed to, through groups, make urgent decisions that require immediate intervention. Let's think that in intergenerational contexts, the use of WhatsApp is a source of conflicts and perhaps, over time, it can also be the channel of communication and search for solutions between the parties.
What is true is that before making decisions about the use of technology in conflict management processes, you must assign it a function and, above all, share it with the parties so that they validate both the means and their role within the management process.
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