This article examines the rise of caucus-only mediation and the decline of the joint session, using data from a survey of mediators in the International Academy of Mediators. The authors write that “the trajectory of mediation may be mirroring a fractured, polarized society where conversation is perceived as awkward, if not dangerous.” The article concludes that there should be a presumption in mediation of a joint session with dialogue between the parties—a rebuttable presumption in particular cases. The authors call for mediators to remain leaders of understanding how to promote talk and to continue to be expert in dialogue in a shrinking world so desperately in need of human interaction, collaboration, and civil conversation.