We Could All Use Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way. It's a skill that many, including myself, lack. It's most often associate with politics but it really is a skill everyone should understand and get better at - it's the core of dealing with people.

I've spent a great deal of my 20s focused on self-improvement and, obviously, diplomacy was a subject that came up from time to time. I arrogantly believed that I was a fairly diplomatic person but that was before I started really analyzing my interactions with others. My observations have shown that I apply none of the lessons that I've learned - now that's a shame! 

When I want something from someone I blurred it out, sometime angrily, in order to make my thoughts come across. Sometime, I do get what I want but at what cost? Feelings are hurt, relationships are stained … it's not a pretty sight.

This problem is also something that I've observed in other people. I have nobody in my entourage that I can use as a role model for this skill but I do know where to go to find some - someone in sales! Anyone in sales have to learn how to deal with people if they wish to have any sort of success in selling. Therefor it makes sense that if I want to learn more about diplomacy then I need to get acquainted with a salesman or go back to my self-improvement material that relates to sales. 

"In youth we learn; in age we understand."

-Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

As I'm nearing my mid thirties, I feel I'm long overdue on improving my diplomatic skills. It's also something that I pay more attention to in others. It's time for all of us to be more diplomatic.