By Peter Rodgers.
Effective writing, presentation and negotiation skills are essentials in your career tool-kit.
Knowing how to write and present well and conduct international negotiations are core diplomatic tradecraft skills.
But knowing WHAT to do is one thing – knowing HOW to do it, and do it well, is another thing entirely.
Effective writing skills
Does your role involve writing policy advice or preparing talking points and meeting briefs?
If so, you are probably already convinced of the need to constantly practice and hone your writing skills so you can develop clear and succinct policy advice which successfully informs and persuades Ministers and other decision-makers.
If you are regularly set the task of writing meeting briefs and talking points, then you know how important it is that your writing effectively distills the key interests and goals and guides meeting participants.
If you are called upon to write records of conversations or meetings, then you would be well aware how crucial it is that your writing captures the main points of a discussion and clearly identifies any follow-up action required.
Effective presentation skills
Are you often involved in preparing and delivering speeches and oral presentations? If so, knowing the essentials of effective oral presentation is a must-have skill.
You’ll need to know:
* the critical difference between written and spoken communication,
* the finer points of speech structure, rhythm and tone and the importance of active engaging language
* techniques to capture and hold audience attention and ensure that key messages are conveyed clearly, precisely and persuasively.
International negotiation skills
Negotiation skills are a central component of diplomacy and many other public sector roles.
Practitioners need to be adept at planning negotiating strategies, adopting different negotiating tactics during the actual discussions and operating effectively in cross-cultural environments.
They can and need to develop and strengthen their abilities through interactive discussions, practical exercises and simulations which involve real-life negotiation scenarios.
Enhance your diplomatic tradecraft with practical exercises
To meet the growing need for these essential diplomatic tradecraft requirements, we have developed three short courses running in July and October this year, which are specifically designed to target these highly sought after and transferable skills .
All three courses have a strong practical focus.
In the two-day ‘International Negotiation Skills’ course, the first day of the course examines the building blocks of effective international negotiations including:
* the professional and personal attributes of a good negotiator
* the requirements of bilateral and multilateral negotiations
* communicating across cultures
* negotiation practice: preparation/briefing, lobbying, chairing, mediation, drafting.
In the second day of the course, participants conduct an international meeting on a topical issue, during which they role-play delegates from a variety of countries and organisations. This provides them with first-hand experiences of:
* building and working with alliances
* negotiating tactics and dynamics
* formal (plenary) and corridor negotiation
* working-group and text-based negotiation.
Deepen your global contextual understanding, and enhance your diplomatic skills
These three courses are part of a suite of NEW professional development short courses offered by the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU.
We offer courses aimed at honing your diplomatic tradecraft skills:
International negotiation (12-13 July or 18-19 October)
Effective writing (9-10 July or 15-16 October)
Effective presentation (11 July or 17 October)
We also offer courses designed to deepen your global contextual understanding of the Asia-Pacific region:
Engaging China (4 April)
Strategy and Diplomacy in the 21st Century (11 April)
Understanding China’s Asia Policy (18 April)
Strategic Diplomacy in East Asia (11 & 12 December)
Courses are suitable for practitioners and policy-makers in government and the diplomatic corps who want to improve their global contextual understanding, and who recognise the increasing complexity of their roles.
To enquire about our new Executive Education short course calendar, or to request a tailored course for your team, contact Andrea Haese on [email protected] +61 2 6125 0914
* Peter Rodgers is a former senior Australian diplomat whose 24 years in the foreign service included postings to Bangladesh, Indonesia and Egypt and head-of-mission appointments to the Caribbean and to Israel.
He was also an award-winning journalist and commercially published author. Peter is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at ANU, and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the University of the South Pacific.
As a certified trainer, he has delivered effective communication and international negotiation skills training programs widely, including in Australia, South and Southeast Asia, Indochina, Europe and the Pacific.
