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Tag: diplomatic language

Why diplomats “lie”

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.

Soft Diplomacy: Skills for Future Affairs

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/

2770502978_d47a8b1af6Image source: flickr.com “Playing chess on the Nile#5” Ranil Amarasuriya http://goo.gl/I7L1Gv

proposed by: Emanuele D’Andrassi