We put the same question to several experienced mediators, separately, and filmed the answers. No scripts, no house line, and they do not always agree. Every answer is here in full, with transcripts.
We asked five practitioners how they get ready for a mediation. Almost none of the answer was about the documents. Most of it was about the people, including themselves.
We asked four commercial mediators what a lawyer should do in a mediation. The answer that came back first was not more, or harder, or better prepared. It was less.
We asked four mediators with decades of commercial practice between them which skills matter most, separately, at different times, in different countries. They all named the same one first.