Relational Workplace Mediation - Advanced Mediation Training

Tracking Emotion to Build Durable Agreements - A Structured, Empathy-Centered Approach for Experienced Practitioners

Workplace disputes can move through a process yet leave the underlying conflict unresolved. When agreements collapse weeks later, the missing element is usually emotional: unaddressed hurt, unacknowledged impact, or needs that never made it into the room.

In this half-day training at BASF, John Ford introduces a structured relational workplace mediation model that treats emotions not as obstacles to resolution, but as signals to follow. Participants learn to track beneath positions and stories to the feelings and needs that drive conflict and to create the conditions where clarity, regulation, and constructive engagement become possible.

Drawing on workplace mediation practice, neuroscience, nonviolent communication, and tracking wisdom from indigenous traditions, this session reframes the mediator's role: not as someone who manages or suppresses emotion, but as someone who can follow it skillfully without reinforcing blame or losing neutrality.

This training is designed for mediators and conflict professionals who know the fundamentals and want more reliable ways to stay grounded and effective when emotions are high and the path forward is unclear.

Topics

• Apply a structured relational mediation framework that brings consistency and confidence to workplace cases
• Use opening sessions to orient parties and establish emotional ground rules that reduce escalation
• Deploy caucuses strategically and early to lower emotional temperature before joint sessions
• Distinguish genuine feelings from "faux feelings" (blame disguised as emotion) and track beneath story to underlying needs
• Practice systematic, speculative, and intuitive empathy to follow emotional cues without reinforcing victim narratives or taking sides
• Facilitate acknowledgment between parties in ways that restore clarity and reduce charge
• Maintain presence and neutrality amid ambiguity, high emotion, and narrative complexity

Faculty

John Ford John Ford & Associates

John Ford is a workplace mediator, conflict resolution trainer, and negotiation instructor with more than thirty years of experience supporting individuals, teams, and organizations through complex workplace conflict. He teaches mediation and negotiation at UC Law San Francisco and has trained professionals across corporate, government, healthcare, and academic settings.

He is the author of Peace at Work: The HR Manager's Guide to Workplace Mediation, creator of The Empathy Set®, and author of the forthcoming book Tracking Triggers: From Reactivity to Responsiveness (Spring 2026). His work integrates tracking wisdom learned from San communities in Southern Africa with contemporary approaches to emotional intelligence and conflict transformation.

Event Code: ADR262053
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Cost

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Program Access
This is an in-Person program only.  Virtual access will not be available. Program recordings are not guaranteed and/or included with this registration, nor immediately accessible to registrants. Approved recordings of live programs are converted to On-Demand CLE Courses and available for separate purchase through a third-party library 30 business days after the live recording. 

Attending Programs
This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the BASF/JDC’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a BASF/STAFF person or the photographer.

A 50% refund is available if you cancel at least 10 business days prior to the event. For cancellation, please email adr@sfbar.org. 

If you are unable to attend, you may send a substitute. Please email adr@sfbar.org. 

MCLE Notice
To receive MCLE credit, you must sign in during the designated MCLE registration period. This activity is approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California. BASF is a certified provider: Provider #103

Accessibility
People with disabilities and/or special requests should contact BASF regarding reasonable accommodations.