In the world of theater, the “fourth wall” is a convention describing the invisible wall separating actors from the audience. While imaginary, it keeps an important distance between what is happening on stage and those watching a play. Occasionally, playwrights will deliberately break through that barrier, allowing actors and audience to venture into and connect in the same space and time.

Online mediation, and specifically the experience of communicating through a computer screen, creates a fourth wall between mediators and participants, and even between attorneys and their clients. We have new challenges going to the heart of the mediation process, impacting the way we communicate and the way we resolve cases. If we are going to mediate cases effectively, we need to break through this wall. Some of the solutions are very practical and technology-focused; others go to how we conduct ourselves online during the mediation process.