from Dan Oldfield at CBC,

The U.S. Federal Mediation Conciliation Service (FMCS) is a world leader in interest-based negotiations.

In plain English, that means its mediators will attempt to uncover the real needs of the parties — as opposed to the wants — and bring them closer to satisfying those needs.

Needs, of course, are different than wants. Sure, I want to win the lottery, but I need to pay my bills. And I'm reminded of that every time I check my losing ticket. And I still get by.

Mediators are not miracle workers though. They will only succeed based on the good faith and willingness of the parties to reach agreement.

You can probably expect at least a day or two where the mediator(s) will meet separately with the parties in order to appreciate what their perspectives are and what is keeping them apart.

In fact, they might never bring the parties into the same room.

Once the mediators have an understanding of the issues, they will attempt to explore different ways of addressing the parties' interests.

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