This inquiry explores the mediator practices to bring the interaction back on track when the participants of dispute mediation go off-task. First, it explores the moves mediators make to perform interventions to bring the current state of activity more in line with mediation activity. Second, it accounts for the variety of interventions mediators perform employing the notions of face and facework. The paper debates what the findings mean in terms of mediation, the interaction order and the institutional order.