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Language, when you need it
Search concise C2 rules, vocabulary and speaking phrases without leaving the course to hunt through past lessons.
What it is
The mediator's voice is a neutral, steady way of speaking that summarises both sides fairly, without taking a stance, so that people in conflict feel heard rather than judged.
Form
| Form | Pattern | Model sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Summarise neutrally | What I'm hearing from you is… and from you is… | What I'm hearing from you is that the deadline feels unfair, and from you that the workload wasn't shared evenly. |
| Name the shared ground | It sounds like you both want + shared goal | It sounds like you both want the project to succeed without either of you burning out. |
| Invite without pressure | Would it help if / Is there room to + suggestion | Would it help if we looked at redistributing the last two tasks? |
| Check for agreement | Does that feel like a fair way to put it? | Does that feel like a fair way to put it, to both of you? |
Use it when
- Facilitating a dispute between team members in a meeting
- Chairing a discussion where two people keep talking over each other
- Writing a summary email after a disagreement that both sides need to trust
- Stepping into a family or community conflict as a calm third party
Examples
- So one concern is timing, and the other is trust — is that fair to both sides?
- It sounds like neither of you actually disagrees on the goal, just the method.
- Let me check I've got this right before we move on.
- Both points make sense from where you're each standing.
- Is there a version of this that works for both of you, even if it's not perfect for either?
Watch out
✗ I think you're right and they're overreacting.
✓ I can see why this matters to you, and I can see their concern too.
Taking sides breaks the neutrality the mediator's voice depends on.
✗ Just calm down and stop arguing.
✓ Let's slow down so we can hear both sides properly.
An instruction to calm down sounds like a scolding, not a neutral steer.
✗ You're both wrong about this.
✓ There are two valid ways of seeing this — let's find where they overlap.
Judging both sides as wrong shuts down cooperation instead of building it.
Remember
Say back what you heard before you say what you think.
Quick check
- 1. What's the core skill in the mediator's voice?
Reveal
Summarising both sides fairly and neutrally, without judging either.
- 2. Why avoid saying 'calm down'?
Reveal
It sounds like a scolding rather than a neutral, respectful steer.
- 3. What should you do before offering a solution?
Reveal
Check your summary is accurate and fair to both people first.