Diplo Academy offers a wide range of capacity development in-situ and online workshops covering different topics, from public speaking to diplomatic protocol and dealing with the media. Workshops are exercise-based, and aim to help participants identify and overcome challenges by providing practical tips, tools, and solutions.
Workshops are always customised to meet the needs of the particular region or partner institution, and are delivered by our experienced and knowledgeable faculty members.
In addition to the topics listed below, we can design specialised capacity development programmes on request, combining topics or adding different ones.
In recent years, our team has delivered workshops for the EU, the ministries of foreign affairs of Serbia, South Africa, Bahrain, and Moldova, the African Union, the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, and at universities in the USA, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, among others.
If your institution is interested in organising a workshop for your employees, please contact Ms Dragana Markovski, Deputy Director of Education and Training, at draganam@diplomacy.edu for more details.
The Power of the Unsaid
The focus of this workshop is ‘between-the-lines’ communication. In an age that promotes clear writing and transparent communication, the subtler nuances of so-called ‘diplomatic language’ are often dismissed as irrelevant or undesirable. However, since the unsaid can be a source both of strength and of misunderstanding, this workshop demonstrates how implicit communication can not only build relationships, but break them too.
The workshop is exercise-driven and culminates in a HARDtalk simulation.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, journalists, international and NGOs staff, translators, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitator
Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, MPhil and DPhil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a senior lecturer in Language and Diplomacy online course at Diplo, and an associate of the China Centre, University of Oxford, where she has taught for the last 25 years.
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Public Speaking
Understanding the basics of good communication (message elements), alongside what it takes to be a good communicator (message delivery), is an intrinsic element of how we do business, and of how we function in and relate to the world around us.
A heightened awareness of how others speak and the skill to identify what went well and what could have gone better, help improve our own speaking styles. Using presentations as a medium of delivery – impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorised – this workshop explores the meaning of good communication, discusses how to provide constructive feedback to other speakers, and focuses on finding style and voice.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, government staff, journalists, international and NGOs staff, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitator
Ms Mary Murphy is a Budapest-based public speaking coach, specialising in communications training for non-native-English speakers.
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Effective Communication and Persuasion
Under Stress
Most of our decisions are based on emotions rather than logic or analysis. We are impulsive and biased, and can easily be manipulated. Often, under stress we badly misjudge the intentions of others.
This workshop aims to improve the communication skills of participants, and address some of our worst impulses through improving public and one-to-one speaking skills. This is achieved through a combination of hands-on exercises designed to help participants identify their strengths and weaknesses, and through individual guidance on what needs to be improved. Special emphasis is placed on how to avoid stress and increase persuasion when talking to people. Based on analysis of video recordings of interviews with participants, the exercises result in personalised tips to prepare participants for a wide range of situations including business, diplomatic, political, and team meetings.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, government staff, journalists, international and NGOs staff, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitator
Mr Valeriu Nicolae is a human rights activist and communications trainer with extensive experience in Europe and the world. From 2015, he worked for the Romanian government as state counsellor at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, and as state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Protection and Elderly. From 2016 to 2017, he worked at the Council of Europe as special representative of the secretary general. His work includes social policy and social services, national programmes for children’s rights, social inclusion, and poverty policies.
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Communication Skills
Just as we need to punctuate our written communication, so too do we need to punctuate our speech. Tone, speed, volume, and pitch are key elements of effective  communication. How we communicate – the words we use, the tone we use, the information we transmit – often depends on to whom we are talking. In our heads, we assume we know what we want to say, but how clear are we really that what we think we want to say, really is what we want to say? We tend to make our communication over-complicated and difficult to follow, particularly when dealing with technical subjects.
All these topics are tackled during the workshop on communication skills, designed to be highly interactive with plenty of relevant examples and practical exercises. The key focus is placed on distance travelled by each participant measured by initial competence against final competence.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, journalists, international and NGOs staff, translators, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitator
Ms Mary Murphy is a Budapest-based public speaking coach, specialising in communications training for non-native-English speakers.
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Intercultural Communication Essentials
Why do small assumptions sometimes escalate into big misunderstandings? How can we avoid misreading each other? And are we all too hasty in jumping to judgement?
The workshop focuses on particular forms of diversity, from the different communicative styles that characterise individuals in all cultures (the rational, emotional, and intuitive styles), to differences between cultures with regard to time, courtesy, relationship building, respect for authority, tolerance of dissent, risk aversion, and other defining variables. The workshop seeks to find a balance in the paradox at the heart of intercultural communication: on the one hand, we want to challenge prejudices and avoid typecasting, yet on the other, we need to delineate different profiles so as to provide a fair characterisation of identifiable differences.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, journalists, international and NGOs staff, translators, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitator
Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, MPhil and DPhil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a senior lecturer in Language and Diplomacy online course at Diplo, and an associate of the China Centre, University of Oxford, where she has taught for the last 25 years.
Intercultural Communication Essentials workshop
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Public Diplomacy
This workshop covers the goals and methods of public diplomacy, as well as different approaches to public diplomacy. It covers planning strategies for country image-building activities based on best practices, and looks at how to assess and evaluate the impact of public diplomacy programmes. Through a combination of theory, case studies, and practical exercises, the workshop enables participants to:
- define public diplomacy and its key features
- describe the tasks and methods of public diplomacy
- identify different approaches to public diplomacy
- suggest appropriate tools and methods for different situations
- prepare targeted public diplomacy strategies
- use linguistic and rhetorical techniques in an optimal way
- integrate social media tools into public diplomacy strategies
- assess and evaluate the impact of public diplomacy programmes
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, international and NGOs staff, translators, business people, and executives.
Workshop facilitators
Ambassador Kishan S Rana served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1960–95. He has been a distance education teacher in diplomatic studies since 1999, now holding the position of professor emeritus at Diplo. Amb. Rana has developed distance courses for the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department and the British Foreign Office, and has lectured at many diplomatic training institutions. He has authored several books and written numerous articles for various journals.
Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2006. During her 33-year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic positions in London and several overseas postings. She was seconded for two years as a senior policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister and she continues to provide advice to the Romanian Foreign Ministry on human resources development and diplomatic training.
Diplomatic Reporting
For diplomats, experts, and representatives of civil society, as well as business people, attending international meetings, negotiations, and discussions, and reporting back to their governments, organisations, or companies, is an important and time-consuming part of their work.
This workshop aims to increase the quality and efficiency of such reporting, focusing on the critical skills required for both traditional and internet-based reporting. It includes guidance and exercises on:
- art of conscious listening
- use of language
- structure and style of written reports
- preparing concise summaries
It also provides an introduction to using new media for public reporting, including mastering the art of blogging/Twiplo-reporting.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, international and NGOs staff, translators, and journalists.
Workshop facilitators
Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2006. During her 33-year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic positions in London and several overseas postings. She was seconded for two years as a senior policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister and she continues to provide advice to the Romanian Foreign Ministry on human resources development and diplomatic training.
Ms Mary Murphy is a Budapest-based public speaking coach, specialising in communications training for non-native-English speakers.
Diplomatic English
Ensuring effective communication in official writing and public speaking in diplomatic English is one of the basic skills civil servants need to master in the globally interconnected world. This workshop provides guidance and exercises in the use of language, the structure and delivery of a range of written and spoken registers, as well as guidance on appropriate language for new media. The course involves interactive participation through writing exercises and impromptu and prepared speaking opportunities in a safe environment in which participants can try out the various public speaking skills. Feedback from the trainers is encouraging and constructive, and participants are invited to comment on each other’s performances. A spirit of camaraderie and good humour is emphasised throughout.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, journalists, translators, international and NGOs staff.
Workshop facilitators
Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2006. During her 33-year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic positions in London and several overseas postings. She was seconded for two years as a senior policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister and she continues to provide advice to the Romanian Foreign Ministry on human resources development and diplomatic training.
Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, MPhil and DPhil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a senior lecturer in Language and Diplomacy online course at Diplo, and an associate of the China Centre, University of Oxford, where she has taught for the last 25 years.
Diplomatic Protocol and Etiquette
Protocol is an important part of diplomatic practice. With the advent of air travel, heads of state and respective delegations began to meet more often, resulting in a rise in summitry. Such meetings necessitate that protocol procedures and etiquette are strictly followed in order to find a balance between commonly accepted norms of behaviour that need to be applied during such occasions. Etiquette helps one present oneself in a professional manner, not only in diplomatic circles but also in business-related scenarios. The ever-changing business environment and the diversity of cultures demand that business executives master the basics of etiquette and better understand multicultural manners.
The workshop aims to enable the participants to get a better understanding of official protocol and etiquette as practiced at state level, at international meetings, and at business meetings through highly interactive exercises.
Recommended for: practicing diplomats, civil servants, government staff, international and NGOs staff, translators, business people, and executives.
Contact
Ms Dragana Markovski, Deputy Director of Education and Training
Email: draganam@diplomacy.edu