Diplomatic Professional

 Being Diplomatic in Profession

There is one popular post circulating on social media about what is Diplomacy "A ticket to hell was sold, at premium price & excitement of the buyer to embark on the journey was noticeable". NO this is not Diplomacy, it is sheer MANIPULATION.

On the contrary, one of the Indian minister, during his address to an International Forum, mentioned that "Europe must review their thinking, that Europe's problem is worlds problem & worlds problem is NOT Europe's problem", this was again backed by some crucial facts, YES this is Diplomacy, you give reasons backed by facts and leave the thinking & reviewing of their own perception for them to work it out.

Indeed it is very much possible to practice & learn how to communicate & pass on the right message without being blunt, hurtful or savage.

A great deal to self confidence & patience is required to remain calm & composed while being diplomatic in actions & reactions, one has to become completely selfless, drop off all personal opinions & perceptions, focus objectively on the subject matter & deliver the message using right, sensible & meaningful words without being diverted or distracted, yes a lot to do, but indeed the results too can be very promising.

Let us discuss some aspects of practicing diplomacy:

1) Diplomacy means, one has to communicate or interact with another as if they are talking to themselves, so as much as we love to be talked politely, humbly, with respect & objectively, we also do not appreciate if any communication or interaction is insulative, sarcastic, belittling, or intimidating.

So then how will anyone else appreciate being communicated in a manner that we will never approve of?

2) Diplomacy means, a communication or interaction that is egoless yet objectively driven, is clear & loud yet convincing, is inclusive & conclusive at the same time.

3) We have to accept the fact that a majority of people that we interact with are living & leading their life based on Personality Ethics, that means for them their public image is of paramount importance & they will never appreciate it if their public image is affected in anyways. Diplomacy is all about helping your work done without trying to get anywhere close to disrupting their hard work that they have put in to build & maintain their public image.

4) The preliminary reasons for ending up having some undiplomatic conversations are our actions drawn down from the urge to give a befitting reply. 

Irrational thoughts arising from any given situation or actions of someone are very natural & hence do not beat it down, let it flow, take a PAUSE, do not act instantly, it is these irrational thoughts that are going to help you arrive at a very practical & sensible possible rational actions, it will let you have clear picture on what exactly shouldn't be done.

5) Diplomacy must not be considered as sugar coating, rather sugar coating may be required to communicate bitter truth. Whereas Diplomatic approach is all about communicating with clear understanding of the end results.

6) Before initiating any conversation, have a clear objective of what is expected for the efforts being made & what was the last stage of communication, always begin with giving a clear idea about background, if there is any, so that the person will be on the same page with you.

7) Be very precise in choosing the right words, and at the same point in time maintain a very polite & humble tone, this will help you to remain focused while the person reading or listening will want to give full attention to your efforts.

8) If you are communicating with any senior in person, try to remain enthusiastic in your tone, don't mind including hand gestures, try to have constant eye contact & include as many as please, kindly & thank you, keep your conversations to be like you are sharing ideas, wondering how it could be done, even if your proposition is strongly backed with analysis & statistics, let your presentation remain as an idea & never over emphasize it as a fact. Be like a child & appreciate their time. Let them take time to ponder upon & contemplate about your ideas.

9) If talking with a colleague, try to remain focused on their body language, if they are available to hear, discuss than go along with the details & explain it well to them about your perceptions, leave the conversation for them to lead on, let them share their perception & views on the given information, take corrections candidly & respond with interest & carefully, so that they remain encouraged to continue supporting your reasoning.

10) If you are totally frustrated, upset & things are getting on your nerves & you need to vent out, let your friend & family member whom you want to share understanding it in first place that all what you might say, express is about another situation & not about them, let them know that they are not expected to give any suggestion or advice unless asked for, likewise do the same when you are sharing your shoulder for someone else to help them reduce their load.

Let all your communication & conversations be explanatory enough for everyone to understand without getting confused or intimidated, Practice & become perfect, if once in a while you cross your limits, then apologize, as a timely apology with changed behaviour is top notch Diplomacy!