Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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Jeff Kichaven and Jeff Krivis, two Los Angeles-based mediators and colleagues on the Alternatives Editorial Board, and good friends for decades, have addressed the subject of humor and cheerfulness on these pages with depth and insight. See Jeff Kichaven & Deborah Rothman, “Make it Funny: It’s a Risk, but Humor Can Ease ADR Tension,” 21 Alternatives 49 (March 2003) (available at http://bit.ly/2iJN7O8), and Jeffrey Krivis, Standing Up for Mediation: A Veteran Neutral Trains in Comedy and ‘Settles’ for Getting Laughs, 20 Alternatives 93 (May 2002). Krivis took extensive classes in comedy and improvisation to enhance his skills as a communicator and mediator.

The subject of humor in mediation has been extensively commented upon by many others so I have included an extensive if not exhaustive list of sources and references at the end of the article. Here is my take on some of the key points based upon my own experiences as a mediator and with the nature of humor.

SOCIAL ‘LUBRICANT’

In the article cited in the accompanying box on page 7, Kevin Cruthirds notes that “mediators can use humor to increase their status in the eyes of the parties and increase their ability to guide the parties. Research supports this, showing that self-enhancing humor is particularly effective at garnering power from a group.”