Author Archives: stevemehta

New Blog Location

Posted on August 29, 2013 by stevemehta

Moving forward the new Mediation Matters blog articles will be posted to my own website.  You will be able to find all of the archived blogs and new blog articles at the following URL:
http://www.stevemehta.com/blog
Thank you!
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Posted in negotiation | Comments Off

Your “Likes” Can Reveal Your Personality

Posted on March 20, 2013 by stevemehta

Recently, I have been conducting some research on what items surrounding a person say about that person’s personality and then I was delighted to see a fascinating study on a related issue addressing people’s likes from Facebook.  In essence, the study research what predictive information can be gleened from a person’s “like” of something. The […] Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, like, personality, Pyschological Research and negotiations, research, reveal, study, traits | Comments Off

My final offer is a very Precise and Exact number.

Posted on March 20, 2013 by stevemehta

Here is a brief article in the Boston Globe regarding making and responding to offers.  Many litigators consider this approach to be a sound negotiating strategy. Now there is some science to support it. “NEXT TIME YOU find yourself in a negotiation, don’t just throw out a round number. In a series of experiments, researchers from […] Continue reading →

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Liar, Liar, Texts on Fire

Posted on March 11, 2013 by stevemehta

You can’t go anywhere without someone texting you today.  For some, text messages are the preferred source of communications.  But how accurate are texts and can we rely on this form of communication? The reality is that text message, while efficient, is a very flawed method of communicating.  According to longstanding research by Mehrabian, 93% […] Continue reading →

Posted in deception, liar, lying, Mediation, messages, negotiation, text, texting, xu | Comments Off

How Long is That Person Going to Vent?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by stevemehta

By Steven G. Mehta, It is very common in mediation and negotiation for parties to want to vent their anger, frustration, or angst.  However, according to several participants who are on the listening end of such venting, there is only so much venting that they can take or accept without feeling like they have to […] Continue reading →

Posted in anger, frustration, interrupt, interruption, negotiation, vent, Venting, word in edgewise | Comments Off

Your Super Powerful all convincing Mediation Statement

Posted on November 27, 2012 by stevemehta

So you want persuade the other side or the mediator?  Well use more adjectives and you will be amazing in your power of persuasion according to new research. Purdue researchers contrasted the use of adjectives by successful and less successful authors, both in classics and modern books.  They found that in both cases, the author […] Continue reading →

Posted in adjective, communication, evocative, expressive, language, Mediation, negotiation, persuasion, Pyschological Research and negotiations, research | Comments Off

If You Are Too Touchy, I Might Get An Angry Feely

Posted on November 12, 2012 by stevemehta

Touch is a powerful force in any social interaction.  There is much research to demonstrate the beneficial effect of touch.  For example, several studies have found that touch can help bond, increase tips, and develop a connection between others.  However, recent research has demonstrated that in a competitive situation, touch can be considered negative and […] Continue reading →

Posted in back, backfire, benefit, camps, dominance, jeroen, Mediation, negotation, pat, patting, Pyschological Research and negotiations, research, shoulder, touch, touching | Comments Off

Lies Can Easily Be The Truth

Posted on October 31, 2012 by stevemehta

Many people are shocked and amazed when they find out that the juries are susceptible to lies of unscrupulous experts or witnesses.  They often state with incredulity that the truth should come out in trial.  Unfortunately, however, the truth doesn’t always come out.  Recently, a study from Australia helped to give a better understanding why […] Continue reading →

Posted in belief, beliefs, expert, jury, lies, Mediation, negotiation, parties, party, persuasion, preconcieved, Pyschological Research and negotiations, research, Stephan Lewandowsky, truth, witness | Comments Off

One Bad Act Can Cost You Way More In the Long Run

Posted on October 29, 2012 by stevemehta

So you have had one bad interaction with opposing counsel or the opposing party.  You would like to make it right.  So one good interaction should make it all better, right?  Wrong.  The reality is that one good interaction does not make up for one bad.  I know this to be true from every time […] Continue reading →

Posted in bad, frederickson, good, interaction, liking, make up, Mediation, negotiation, offset, Pyschological Research and negotiations | Comments Off

I know Nostradamus, and You My Friend Are No Nostradamus

Posted on October 26, 2012 by stevemehta

In every mediation, there is always some party that predicts the future. Phrases such as “There is no way that we can lose this case,” “most likely we will win,” or “the judge will never rule that way,” are frequently mentioned. The reality, however, is that people are generally very bad at telling the future […] Continue reading →

Posted in bias, future, lawyers, Mediation, optimistic, outcome, predicting, prediction, Pyschological Research and negotiations, trial, wishful thinking | Comments Off