Rectangle of Emotions and Needs: How This Mediation Tool Works
A client keeps repeating what the other party did wrong. You ask what matters underneath, but the answer barely changes. Could a visual exercise help?
The Rectangle of Emotions and Needs is designed for that moment. It gives clients a way to notice words related to feelings and needs before discussing what those words mean. This guide explains the grids, their origins and practical use. It separates developer claims from research. The exercise cannot tell you what someone secretly feels.
TL;DR
- The name covers two separate word-search grids: the Rectangle of Emotions and the Rectangle of Needs.
- Three Ukrainian mediators developed the tools in 2023; English versions followed in 2024.
- The emotions grid contains 92 emotion, feeling and emotional-state words, according to the developers’ 2026 webinar description.
- The basic exercise asks a client to identify the first three words noticed in each grid, then check whether those words fit.
- The developers describe initial emotion selection as taking one to three minutes. That is not a validated total session time.
- Use the selections as prompts for questions, not evidence of unconscious thoughts or a diagnosis.
- The grids can be shown on paper or a sufficiently large screen. The original images appear in the creator’s published article.
- Best use: a voluntary supplement to listening and interest-based questioning, not a replacement for either.
What are the Rectangle of Emotions and Rectangle of Needs?
They are two separate word-search-style exercises for mediators. Instead of giving a client a tidy list of feelings or asking them to pick from cards, the mediator presents a dense grid of letters with meaningful words embedded in it.
The Rectangle of Emotions focuses on feelings and emotional states. The Rectangle of Needs shifts attention toward what the person wants, values or may be missing in the dispute. They work together without necessarily producing a one-to-one match.
This is a conversation aid, not a psychological test. It can help move someone from “I want an apology” toward what matters underneath.
Who created the rectangles?
Mediator Oleh Tiurin says the tools were developed in 2023 by three Ukrainian mediators. Tiurin’s first puzzle used words from a list associated with Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
The team later adopted words from CMG Emotion Cards, created by Olha Tiutiun. Mediator and psycholinguist Olha Tiurina carried out the final editing. They repeated the approach for needs, and translated the tools into English in 2024.
The International Mediation Campus featured Tiurin presenting the Rectangle of Emotions in July 2026. That is not scientific validation of the method.
How do the two rectangles work?
The Rectangle of Emotions
The emotions grid contains 92 words, according to the International Mediation Campus event description. Clients scan the letters and notice words that attract their attention, a different starting point from a conventional list.
The creator proposes asking for the first three words noticed. Crucially, noticing a word is not the same as experiencing that emotion. Someone may simply notice a familiar or easily read word. The selection becomes useful only when the client explains whether it fits their experience.
The Rectangle of Needs
The second grid uses the same word-search format, but focuses on needs. Its purpose is to move the conversation beyond emotional description and toward the interests that a settlement might address.
Someone anxious about a contract might value predictability or security. Those are possibilities, not answers supplied by the grid. The client decides.
NVC offers a useful conceptual link: its framework distinguishes observations, feelings, needs and requests. The Center for Nonviolent Communication offers a separate inventory. The Rectangle’s puzzle format is distinct.
Why arrange the words like a puzzle?
Tiurin describes the rectangles as a projective technique. His explanation is that meaningful words stand out from the letter grid because they resonate with a person’s current state.
That is the developers’ proposed explanation, not a proven reading of the unconscious. The format may simply interrupt a familiar questioning pattern. Ask what words mean to the client, not what their location supposedly reveals.
How to use the Rectangle in a mediation session
Here is the developers’ method with added safeguards.
1. Ask permission and explain the purpose
Offer the exercise when normal questions are going in circles, or when a client says they cannot describe how the conflict feels. Explain that it is optional and that there are no correct answers.
You might say: “I have a short word-search exercise that sometimes helps people find language for what’s going on. Would you like to try it? You can disagree with any word or stop whenever you wish.”
Do not present it as a test of honesty, emotional intelligence or hidden motives. A refusal is a preference, not a problem to overcome.
2. Show the Rectangle of Emotions
Use a printed sheet at least A4 size, as Tiurin recommends, or display the image on a screen large enough to read comfortably. The creator suggests a screen around 12 to 13 inches or larger.
Invite the client to name three words they notice first. Do not guide their eyes. If frustrated, return to open questions.
3. Check each word with the client
Ask: “Does this word describe anything you’re feeling about the dispute?” Follow with: “When does that feeling show up?” and “Would you use a different word?”
If a client selects “fear” but says they are not afraid, accept the correction. Do not claim the grid reveals hidden feelings. Trust their account.
4. Repeat with the Rectangle of Needs
Present the second grid and invite three words. Then ask: “Which of these matters most right now?” “What would that need look like in practice?” and “What might the other party misunderstand about it?”
Clients can reject every word or add their own. The rectangle must not limit their answers.
5. Turn the discussion toward workable options
Reflect back what the client has confirmed, then connect it to the dispute. “You said reliable information matters more than a public apology. What arrangement would give you that reliability?”
Check the other party’s interests separately. Then return to options, feasibility and consent.
Example: using the rectangles in a business dispute
Two business partners argue over financial records. One demands control; the other calls that insulting.
In a hypothetical exercise, the first partner notices words they associate with anxiety and exclusion. In the needs discussion, they identify transparency and reassurance. The mediator asks what would provide accountability without removing authority.
The parties might then examine monthly reporting, shared access to records or independent accounting. The word search produces no solution; it helps turn demands into negotiable questions.
In family mediation, coercion or unequal power can make such disclosure inappropriate.
What does the evidence actually support?
There is some evidence for the broader practice of naming emotions. A 2007 study by Lieberman and colleagues found differences in brain responses when participants labelled emotional images. That supports investigating affect labelling. It does not show that this particular word-search technique improves mediation outcomes.
The developers and IM Campus describe rapid emotional identification and suggest that the grids draw on unconscious processes. However, I could not verify an independently published validation study of the Rectangles themselves, or established figures for accuracy, reliability or settlement improvements. The time claim is not a guaranteed benchmark.
Research on projective tests has also raised questions about how reliably ambiguous responses can be interpreted. Those studies concern other instruments, so they cannot directly disprove the Rectangles. They do reinforce one rule: never treat a client’s selected words as an objective assessment of their inner life.
The relevant test is whether the client communicates more clearly and can consider options freely.
When should a mediator avoid or adapt it?
Use judgment before introducing any emotions and needs mediation tool. A grid may be unsuitable for someone with reading difficulties, limited fluency in the available language, visual barriers or strong discomfort with puzzles. Cultural differences may also change how people understand or disclose feelings; translation alone does not establish cultural validity.
In emotionally unsafe situations, avoid putting a client under pressure to share vulnerable information in a joint session. Consider private discussion or a different process, subject to applicable professional standards. The Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators place party self-determination at the centre of mediation.
For some clients, direct questioning will work better. Use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a printable Rectangle of Emotions and Needs?
Yes. Tiurin included good-quality images of both grids in his original article, explicitly intending mediators to use them. Check the original source for the images and confirm reuse terms before republishing them in your own materials.
Can you use it in online mediation?
Yes, the creator describes using the grids on a screen and recommends a large display. Share the image clearly, check readability and let clients describe the words themselves. Do not record or save their selections without an agreed reason and appropriate consent.
How long does the full exercise take?
The developers report roughly one to three minutes for initial emotion identification. Allow additional time for checking words, discussing needs and connecting them to negotiable issues. There is no independently established total duration.
Do mediators need specialist training?
I found no verified requirement for a specific Rectangle certification. Mediators still need sound skills in consent, questioning, impartiality and recognising when emotional exploration falls outside their competence.
Should you add it to your mediation toolkit?
Before using the rectangles with clients, try both grids in a peer role-play. Practice asking neutral follow-up questions, including what you will say when the chosen words do not fit. That is a better test of your readiness than assuming the puzzle will do the interpretation for you.
Contact CM to discuss mediation support or the use of practical tools in a dispute.
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