… is the title for two interesting courses promoted by MATA. These are not just relevant for mediators. Others who deal with difficult negotiations would certainly benefit.

Extreme Negotiations will be lead by Duncan Jarratt OBE, ex Metropolitan Police hostage negotiator.

Dates: 8 May 2009 or 20 November 2009

Extreme Conversations with Peter Birch, actor, business psychologist and mediator.

I am a real fan of forum theatre as a learning environment. In 2002, I ran a series of high energy, highly emotional training sessions for railway maintenance professionals to help them develop skills to manage the conflicts between costs and safety. It was very popular with an unlikely group (over 1500 participants), and in one session, a normally “restrained” participant was so convinced by the scenarios and the actors he completely forgot that they were actors, jumped up and started to have a blazing row about something that was bothering him! Wonderful!

Highly recommended.

Dates: 15 June or 8 December

Download Course Details

Download Booking form

The last in this series of master classes will be held on 7 May 2009. The interviewee will be Heather Allen who is a highly regarded trainer and mediator with a special interest in cross cultural disputes.

master-class-programme-details-2009

master-class-booking-form-2009

All mediators owe a great deal to William Ury and co-author Roger Fisher for their seminal text on negotiation “Getting to Yes“. Ury is Director of Global Negotiation at Harvard and he will be in Edinburgh on 19 June 2009 for a one day seminar. Flyer and registration form can be downloaded from the image links.

Alternatives in St James offer many interesting talks and workshops. There are several on the programme for the next couple of months that might interest mediators and others. Last year I heard William Ury speak. He was promoting his book “The Power of Positive No.” And yes! I do have a signed copy. Obviously these talks are designed as tasters and frequently good speakers over deliver on the content. They are very good value as you might imagine so you can risk being curious without breaking the bank!

This one is also likely to be very interesting.

Monday 18 May 7pm – 8.30pm
Cost £10

Venue: St James’s Church
197 Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LL

Andrew Cohen and Rupert Sheldrake in conversation

Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and the author of more than 75 technical papers and nine books. He studied natural sciences at Cambridge and philosophy at Harvard and was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, where he was director of studies in biochemistry and cell biology. His most recent book is The Sense of Being Stared At and Other Aspects of the Extended Mind (Hutchinson, 2003). In 1999 his book, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals, was the winner of the British Scientific and Medical Network Book of the Year Award.

Andrew Cohen, spiritual teacher, cultural critic, revolutionary idealist, and founder of award-winning EnlightenNext magazine, is dedicated to inspiring as many as possible to be responsible for the greatest task there is—evolving consciousness and creating a new culture together. He has been teaching for over 20 years, and has a network of students and centres that span the globe.

Link to Alternatives site for further information

There are also a number of free podcasts including an interview with the co-founder of NLP Richard Bandler.

There are a couple of places still remaining for this unique event and there are very attractive discounts on two places for those wishing to attend, especially from overseas.

Alumni of this course include many of the UK’s leading mediators and international practitioners, some of which have attended the course more than once, myself included!

The uniqueness of the event is a combination of the experience of the participants, the location and, of course, the highly experienced training faculty. This generates a fantastic learning environment which is further enhanced by a strong emphasis on both fun and reflection. There are very few advanced mediator skills events that are capable of generating both the challenge and the sense of community as this one does and those of us that have attended speak often of what a joy it was to be there.

A booking form is attached together with a couple of my photos of the extraordinary venue.

Please contact David Richbell for further details – contact details are on the form Advanced Mediator Training – Umbria, Italy.

The cloisters and courtyard are used for eating, meeting, thinking and some training. The view is an early morning from one of the bedrooms.