Smith Thomas

	3 WMF ITALIA 2000 Expert Use of Metaphors in Mediation THOMAS H. SMITH ABSTRACT
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Country: U.S.A. Language: English	We all know of cases where a well-chosen metaphor has been key to resolving a conflict. Until recently, expert use of metaphor has been difficult to learn. Metaphor, often quite unconsciously used, is dominant in abstract thinking of the sort we deal with all the time in mediation, such as emotions, personality, interpersonal relations, psychological interpretations of motivation and behavior, and predictions about future outcomes. If the mediator isn't attuned to the metaphors being used unconsciously by clients, and employs literal language or a metaphor that conflicts with those of clients, results will be sub optimal. Now a growing literature in cognitive science demonstrates how metaphors serve as the foundation for complex thinking, reasoning and language. The scientific study of metaphor makes this tool accessible. Mediators now can be clear about the metaphors they, themselves, use to guide their practice, those that others typically use in the context in which they work, and mediators should be able to detect the unique ones employed by clients. They can much more easily learn how to introduce new or changed metaphors in order to facilitate the resolution of client conflict. The workshop begins with a 45-minute introduction to the theory of metaphors and how to use them in the practice of mediation; this includes explanation and guided exercises to anchor the key concepts. Sixty minutes will be spent in small groups, as follows: In each group a volunteer briefly presents a case, the dominant metaphor(s) are mapped using key concepts already presented, and remedial or generative metaphors built to help resolve the case. The workshop leader assists by moving from group to group. The final 15 minutes will be used to summarize the small group results for the entire workshop. Key Concepts: * Metaphors dominate in shaping complex thinking. * Anatomy of a metaphor? * How to discover and map operating metaphors. * How to modify, re-align or shift a metaphor.
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