The construction of intersubjectivity in first-story requests of online judicial mediation:

a study of talk-in-interaction

Abstract

Mediation is studied here as a suitable method for consensual conflict resolution, in which a mediator performs the main function of trying to reestablish dialogue between the parties in conflict, so that they can, on their own, reach an agreement. A central element for the construction of the mediation work agenda is the understanding of the positions and interests of the parties involved in the conflict, carried out in the information gathering stage, when the mediators tell the stories that led them to mediation, based on an explicit request of the mediator. Considering intersubjectivity residing in the support of a joint activity through organized sequences of talk-in-interaction, this research aims to understand the request for stories, based on real data from online judicial mediation, using Conversation Analysis as a tool theoretical-methodological. The analysis showed how intersubjectivity is co-constructed, in three subsequent moments of two distinct request trajectories, highlighting negotiation strategies for the selection of the first narrator, projection of expectations of relevance in the narratives and gist reformulations without transformations for the mutual construction of understanding. Applied research issues for mediation are discussed.