Knowing what is mediation -- something any person or entity that is involved in a dispute should know. Mediation is most often used in the legal sense as a type of alternative dispute resolution, which is often referred to as ADR. A mediator, who is a neutral third party, will explain mediation to each of the parties involved in the dispute. The parties can be people or organizations, while the dispute can be between two parties or more. The process of mediation is more structured than regular conflict negotiations, which may surprise some people wanting to know about mediation.

Mediation can be used to help resolve a number of conflicts, including, but not limited to, workplace, divorce, child-custody, commercial and family disputes. Mediation is also used by landlords and tenants to come to a resolution, without having to move to an eviction. One of the benefits of mediation is that the process is private and strictly confidential. The mediator must be impartial and utilize techniques to draw out the dialogue of each of the parties in the most open and constructive manner possible. When someone involved in a dispute wants to know about mediation, he should know that the overall goal is to come to the fairest resolution to the dispute and an agreement by all parties involved. Those that want to know more about what is mediation should know that it is a process that attempts to keep people out of court, which can help save them both time and money.