Diplomatic talks occur between government agencies or between state actors, whether the negotiations are bilateral or multilateral. The negotiation process is complex and leads to agreement based on compromise, if an agreement is reached at all. The objective is to advance the interests in an ambassador’s charge, including policy goals and national security concerns. International negotiations often involve complex and thorny issues that can be emotionally charged and have the potential to escalate into conflict.
Diplomats must be able to size up their interlocutors and understand the domestic politics of their governments, who influences them inside and outside of the cabinet, and how they see their national interests. They must also be able to build trust and create rapport with their interlocutors. They should use a style of speech that avoids sarcasm and condescension, which may be misinterpreted as hostile or defensive, while empathetically listening to their interlocutors’ views and understanding their perspectives even when they disagree. They must be able to demonstrate flexibility, tenacity, and courage. The best negotiators are creative in devising new solutions and reframing issues. They are adept at establishing areas of agreement and in addressing difficult issues by proposing, counterproposing, using inducement, and exercising pressure.
In addition to utilizing a distinct language and protocol norms, diplomatic negotiators make use of symbols, ceremonies, and other rituals to convey their status and create the sense that they are on equal footing with their interlocutors around the table. They use indirect bargaining techniques such as symbolic visits, exchanges of gifts, demonstrations of military might, ambiguous body language signaling, public statements and publications about the disputed issue, abuse of the other party’s identity symbols, and other similar methods.
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