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1. Have these handy; a pen, paper, a drink and tissues.

2. Have to hand any documents you have or will wish to share for mediation in case you need to refer to them.

3. Check the suitability of the space in which you will be sitting during the online mediation session and, in particular, think about what will be visible to the other party and if he/she might be sensitive to eg pictures of other people.

4.Test/ensure that your camera is on your face and light directed towards the face and not behind you and that you test your audio and video connection before joining the meeting.

5. Turn off or put to silent any devices like phones, tablets or computers, and disable alerts announcements or notifications of texts, emails, tweets or other social media activity; and close down any application other than the one providing the online video service.

6. Be clear how to join the meeting. The mediator should explain how to do this depending on the platform being used eg Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Face Time.

7. Dress appropriately for a serious meeting even though it takes place online.

8. It helps to arrive early and to be on time. You will then be in a more relaxed frame of mind.

9. If using Zoom, when you join the Meeting you will be in the Waiting Room. Wait until the mediator lets you into the Meeting Room. If there are any problems starting the meeting or a lost connection during the meeting it is helpful to have arranged beforehand with the mediator how to contact each other to discuss the problem.

10. If you need a break for any reason during the meeting ask the mediator.

11. If you are unexpectedly joined by another party during the mediation let the mediator know so you can discuss how to deal with the situation.

12. Do not talk over each other during the mediation. The mediator will ensure that every one has a chance to speak and be heard. Sometimes, depending on the connection, there can be a delay in transmitting when people speak. Mediating online can often be more tiring than face to face meetings.

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