I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a mediation and one side tells me something to the effect that they have this great evidence that will totally change the case. When I ask if I can show the other side, they tell me, that they didn’t bring it, the game changing smoke gun evidence with them. The failure to bring all the critical evidence is probably one of the most common mistakes that negotiators make in mediation.
First, it is important to understand that often times in the world of litigation, anything that you say can get spun by the other side. If you think about it, litigation is often a little like two-party politics–each side will attempt to spin the information to best suit their own needs and interests.
Second, there is significant research to demonstrate that the majority of the population are visual learners. In other words, they learn and comprehend things better in visual form. By bringing the visual evidence to the mediation, the other side can see the evidence and not just hear what you say the evidence demonstrates.
