Get your brain in motion
There are only 24 hours a day and so many things to do. Productivity is the key to reach our goals, especially in a challenging job such as diplomacy.
Travis Bradberry, co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and President at TalentSmart, points at 11 tips to get the things done, and so obtaining more from private and professional life.
Image source: Linkedin/Travis Bradberry
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner – Nelson Mandela
Image Source: Houston Chronicle – Brett Coomer
The story of “The Blood Telegram” shows how difficult it can be, for a diplomat, to tell what he believes to be the truth. Here’s an interesting review by The Economist of the book by Gary Bass, a Princeton academic, analyzing America’s role in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971.
U.S. diplomat Archer Blood put his career at risk by revealing Pakistan’s crimes against Bangladeshi citizens fighting for independence in a telegram to Washington, then strongly allied with Islamabad, the occupying power.
Image source: Flickr – Shamir (CC – BY – 2.0)
In his book “Twenty-four hours at No. 4 Grosvenor Square” (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1978, pp. 19-20), the Italian diplomat Roberto Ducci has masterly depicted the qualities an Ambassador should have:
” Better that the ambassador be square than sinuous, honest and truthful than scheming and artful; let him be uncompromising in vital matters and ready to compromise on small questions; sincere with his own and with guest Government; straight in his inner self, even if sometimes frivolous in his demeanour. Frivolity should be worn by him like his orders of chivalry, without taking them seriously. Honesty, thoroughness and charm (intelligence goes without saying) are the qualities of a good ambassador. Imagination, a much rarer gift, makes the ambassador great.”
Image: Wikipedia
In an article published on Foreign Policy, the American Diplomat and Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns lists 10 observations on American diplomats that can be considered as useful advices for every diplomat:
1. Know where you come from.
2. It’s not always about us.
3. Master the fundamentals.
4. Stay ahead of the curve.
5. Promote economic renewal.
6. Connect leverage to strategy.
7. Don’t just admire the problem — offer a solution.
8. Speak truth to power.
9. Accept risk.
10. Remain optimistic.
Read the full article on Foreign Policy
Image Source: Wikipedia – Public Domain
In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power – including strong and principled diplomacy.
Barack Obama
During a training seminar, Ruben Brunsveld of the Stockholm Institute for Public Speaking (StIPS) asked the question: “Which words do you associate with diplomacy and diplomatic language?”
He found out that the words commonly associated with diplomacy are intrasparent, unclear, vague and even lying.
Actually, diplomatic language can be extremely confusing if you are not used to the codes. It is essential to know the context of the communication and the relationships among the people involved to understand the meaning of a “diplomatic” conversation. So why don’t they just say what they think?
In the international arena, actors coming from different backgrounds meet each other, bearing different communication styles and value systems. Diplomatic language is used to avoid mistakes and to establish “the rules of the game”.
In a field where interpersonal interaction is crucial, those rules are needed to communicate without running the risk of offending your counterpart. For sure, you have to know and practice them, taking into account that diplomats do not lie. They just “soften”.
Read the full article at http://stips.se/why-diplomats-lie/
| What they say |
What they mean |
| We believe the Dutch proposal is very interesting | What a strange Dutch proposal, we will not accept it! |
| We understand the general idea behind your proposal | We have a serious problem with how you want to implement this |
| We believe this proposal deserves further examination | We cannot accept it in this form |
| We have complete understanding for the French concerns, however we feel that we should …. | We disagree with the French |
| I hope we can be pragmatic and work towards a constructive solution | Please stop whining about technicalities |
| I am not quite convinced the German proposal reflects the best way out for all of us. | We will not accept the German proposal. |
| By inserting this you make it hard for me to convince my colleagues. | Stop making my position difficult. |
| I ask your understanding for the fact that this is very important for Sweden. | It is important but I cannot tell you why. Ask me at the coffee machine. |
| I have been instructed by my government to propose the following solution. | I know this is not acceptable for you. Do not shoot the messenger. |
| The internal coordination process is still ongoing | We did not have time to look over the document. |
Are you able to keep your emotions in check when negotiating that big deal? According to Ananda Laberge – associate tutor for Scotwork North America – there are six proven strategies to help gain the upper hand in your next negotiation:
1. Thoroughly prepare
2. Draw the emotion out first
3. Give them what they want… on your terms
4. Watch for signals from the individuals
5. Don’t go into an important negotiation alone
6. When necessary, adjourn
Read the full article at: http://onforb.es/1mLPyb7
Image source: Flickr – koencobbaert – http://bit.ly/1tjQsxE
Diplomatic activities are now mainly based on the daily use of internet. This illustration realised by Diplofoundation summarises one day in the life of an e-diplomat: the series of drawings shows how a diplomat dealing with an environmental crisis uses knowledge management to organise her work.
Image source: http://goo.gl/Pk28Ku
You can see more illustrations of the original gallery at: http://goo.gl/sAUQrK
Ines Pires-Urquiza, a specialist in Soft Diplomacy Skills, in her post on The International School of Protocol and Diplomacy website affirms that soft diplomatic skills and protocol not only are an “European Art”, but rather a common need among developing countries and they should therefore be integrated into global daily lives.
“The current business and social environment is multicultural, multi-generational and multilingual”, she writes. Mastering effective communication skills has rapidly become a worldwide necessity, and the key to success in diplomatic and business domains.
Knowing rules and procedures, which represent a central element of protocol learning, constitutes a prerequisite to any successful negotiation. “Skills development goes before organization, communication and leadership”, affirms the author. The benefits springing from knowing the culture base, the attitude and the background of our counterparts are countless and are able to influence the outcome of any deal.
Read full article at:http://ispdnews.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/soft-diplomacy-brief/
Image source: flickr.com “Playing chess on the Nile#5” Ranil Amarasuriya http://goo.gl/I7L1Gv
proposed by: Emanuele D’Andrassi
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