Tracking Triggers: Following the Emotional Trail in Mediation

presented by John Ford

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Eastern (9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific)

Non-Member Registration

About the Webinar

Mediators are trackers. We listen not only to words, but to tone, silence, intensity, and story, following the emotional trail toward what matters beneath the conflict.

Drawing from his new book, Tracking Triggers: From Reactivity to Responsiveness, John Ford explores how mediators can work with triggered reactions without getting caught in the story themselves. Participants will learn to recognize storied feelings, such as “disrespected,” “betrayed,” and “ignored,” not as false feelings to be corrected, but as meaningful tracks that can lead toward present feelings and underlying needs.

Using careful observation, informed speculation, and intuition, mediators can follow these emotional tracks while remaining present, curious, and neutral, helping parties move from reactivity and blame toward greater clarity, acknowledgment, and choice.

Participants will learn how to:

• Recognize triggered states and distinguish the triggering event from the emotional reaction that follows.
• Identify storied feelings and follow where they point rather than dismissing them or accepting their implied story as fact.
• Use systematic, speculative, and intuitive empathy to track from story toward present feelings and underlying needs.
• Facilitate acknowledgment without requiring agreement with a party’s interpretation of events.
• Maintain presence and neutrality amid high emotion, competing narratives, and ambiguity.

About the Presenter

John Ford

John Ford is a workplace mediator, conflict resolution trainer, and mediation instructor with more than thirty years of experience helping individuals, teams, and organizations navigate conflict. He teaches mediation at UC Law San Francisco and has trained professionals across corporate, government, healthcare, and academic settings.

He is the author of Peace at Work: The HR Manager’s Guide to Workplace Mediation, creator of The Empathy Set®, and author of Tracking Triggers: From Reactivity to Responsiveness.

Time and Place

Tuesday, October 27, 2026
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Eastern (9:00 - 10:30 AM Pacific)

Cost

$50 for Non-members

Free for APFM Members

More Information about the Webinar

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