Parties will often tell you what their position is. A position is like a weed, cut it and it will just grow back. You can help parties consider their ideas for resolution by helping them explore what is causing them to have a certain position - or as the Mediation Ninjas say, discover the interest. The interest is like a root, the root of a dispute. Deal with the root, and most likely the weed will go away. This episode deals with getting at the interest.