Often when mediating the mediator reframes what one of the parties said. “Reframing is essentially a process of clarification, where unessential and superfluous issues are whittled away to reveal the core of each party’s respective contention” (Context is King: A Practical Guide to Reframing in Mediation. www.mediate.com/articles/zaffarE1.cfm) I would often do this and the
other party would say “Now I understand!” Although not exactly reframing this reminds me of the famous scene in an I Love Lucy episode entitled “Paris at Last.” The scene is referred to as “Down the Translation Line.” Lucy and Ricky are in Paris and Lucy gets arrested. Ricky and Lucy do not understand French and they police do not have a translator who can translate from French to English but they do have a person who can translate French to German and another person who can translate German to Spanish, and Ricky can translate Spanish to English for Lucy. Click on Video to see the entire very funny scene on YouTube.
Learn more about mediation at https://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ (326) 3/15/17 CDM