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DIPLOMACY

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between two parties. It usually refers to the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to a full range of topical issues. 

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An individual’s ability to negotiate and find a balance between his needs and the needs of people he works with, through navigation of social situations with grace in order to avoid any ill will, is known as his diplomacy skills.

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Diplomacy skills, in workplace, support effective communication not only during a negotiation but also when an individual attempt to be assertive or persuasive. They, however, revolve around understanding the opinions, feelings, ideas, and beliefs of other people and showing sensitivity towards them. Doing so allows you to reflect back or assert your own feelings and ideas in a well-meaning way such that it avoids ill-feelings or awkwardness.

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Importance: -

Diplomacy is important for minimizing friction, which is inevitable in inter-state relationships. Through the functions of communication, negotiation, intelligence; and through its symbolic function and establishment of rules, diplomacy helps states to interact with minimal friction and tension.

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Your career as well as job success depend, to a great extent, on your ability to relate with your employers, managers, and coworkers. Collaboration, nowadays, is required for almost every project you work upon throughout your career and has become a determinant for excellence and success on an individual level as well as in the form of teams.

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All of this makes diplomacy an invaluable skill to possess in any workplace. Diplomacy skills improve workplace relationships and develop mutual respect such that communication becomes easy and less stressful. Diplomacy skills, if used effectively, enable an individual to come out of an important conversation or a difficult situation with his reputation still intact.

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Therefore, it is safe to say that diplomacy skills are good for your morale as well as for making you more effective in the position that you hold. Diplomacy always seeks to promote the economic, commercial and cultural links of the nation with other nations. Diplomacy depends upon peaceful means, persuasive methods for promoting the interests of the nation and this is indeed an important non-political objective of Diplomacy.

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The purpose of diplomacy is to strengthen the state, nation, or organization it serves in relation to others by advancing the interests in its charge. To this end, diplomatic activity endeavors to maximize a group's advantages without the risk and expense of using force and preferably without causing resentment.

 

How to improve diplomacy skills?

Following are some effective measures that, if taken, can help in improving your diplomacy skills:

 

Get to know other.

The key to having ideal diplomacy skills is getting to know other people. The more you know about their strengths, weaknesses, demands as well as the pressures they face at work, the better you will be able to identify the areas where you could benefit their efforts with your expertise.

 

Never criticize anyone, especially in public.

For improving your diplomacy skills, it is important that you have a relationship of mutual trust and respect with your coworkers. Only then will they have faith in you when you ask them to make a compromise in order to reach the ‘win-win’ point. You must learn to put forward your opinion and needs in a very delicate manner, showing all due respect and tolerance to those of others.

 

Work upon your body language.

You must focus upon and learn to use positive body language. For example, try to use speak in an even and audible tone, relax your body, make eye contact, and keep an appropriate distance from the people you are conversing with. With the help of your body language you should be able to make an impression such that others see you as a problem-solver who shall come up with the best solution. This will increase their faith in you and your solutions.

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Keep in contact with everyone

Good communication with everyone is essential in Diplomacy. Talk to everyone, even to your enemies or the players that are far away on the other site of the map.

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Stay under the radar

When you are constantly intimidating other players, when your work mode is flamboyant, when you open the game very successful or when you make outrageous claims, other players will make you a target. Be humble and helpful to the underdog this will ultimately reflect in your achievements.

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Tell the truth as much as possible

There's no point in lying needlessly. Players who lie much get quick a reputation for being untrustworthy. The key in Diplomacy is telling the truth without telling people what they need to know. Build a circle of trust and expand upon on that, and overtime this will result in a strong ethical reputation .

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Offer help to players who are weak

A constructive support environment breeds an organization where holistically people will build the support structure that will provide support for all levels. Once this pervades in the DNA of the organization benefits will be exponential resulting in all working cohesively as one, for the good of all.

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Stick by your allies

Building an allied based organization, results in a strong partnerships-based approach. This model must not be at the detriment of others. Such a culture will foster strong collaboration, which is a major constructive concept within any successful organization.

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Look for allies on the far side of your enemy

The best allies are often those who are on the opposite side of your enemy because you and your ally centers[ from each other’s backfields. Play for fun and shake hands after the game. Diplomacy can be addicted. The community is large and most of them have long memories. After intensive games, don't carry your grudges. Don't take things personal. Take also care of your own reputation as this will reward you in the long term.

 

Yoga for enhancing Diplomacy Skills: -

Easy Pose (Calm the Brain)

Easy pose is the natural starting point for this yoga workout because of the breathing mindfulness benefits for executives. By starting here, you will calm the mind and start to increase your focus on the yoga practice and, in turn, increase focus elsewhere in your life. Start in a seated cross legged position that is comfortable for you, bring the hands to the knees with palms face up and body relaxed. Sit up tall with spine long and the crown of the head reaching toward the ceiling. Relax the shoulders. Start to concentrate on your inhales and exhales, taking them slow and steady through the nose. Begin here with 15-20 breaths to start your workout.

 

Mountain Pose

Inhale and bring your arms up and over your head. Raised arms pose is your basic morning stretch, but you are focusing on keeping the good alignment you established in mountain pose. Stay grounded in the heels and keep your shoulders moving away from your ears at the same time that you reach up through your fingertips. Your gaze can come up to the hands, which can be shoulder's width apart or palms touching.

 

Legs Up the Wall

Promote thinking and innovation. Position your sacrum over this support, so your sits bones "spill over" between the support and the wall. Now, use a swinging motion to bring your legs vertically against the wall.

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Meditation 

Chakras , breathing, sensory and deep meditation 

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