Business Diplomat: Over Coffee

Rules of address can be learnt in an afternoon. Conducting an easy conversation in which something important is quietly achieved is another matter. In this part of its interview series, Business Diplomat presents the second half of Evelin Hornyák’s answer on the unwritten rules of diplomacy, in which she turns from description to the question of how such skills are acquired.

Skills that can be taught

First observation: skills that can be taught
The assessment begins with an admission that is also a challenge:
“Most skills can be taught. You can be the best at knowing how to address an ambassador, but do you know how to have an informal conversation over coffee while you swiftly negotiate your point or gather information about how your coffee partner thinks?”
The first sentence is encouraging: teaching is possible. The second sets the real test. Knowing the formal answer is one thing; handling an informal situation where the purpose is hidden is another. The coffee example is well chosen: no agenda is printed, no minutes are taken, and yet a point may be made and information gathered. A person who can only perform in formal settings is missing half of the craft.

Early exposure and natural mentoring

Second observation: early exposure and natural mentoring
The assessment states what young people need:
“Young people should have access to international environments early in their careers, and that mentoring should come naturally from senior staff.”
Two conditions are given. Early access means that exposure should begin before habits are fixed. And mentoring that “comes naturally” suggests that it should be part of everyday work and not a formal programme alone. This is where the question of institutionalising such rules finds its answer: not in a rulebook, but in an organisational habit of seniors sharing what they know.

What senior staff should share

Third observation: what should be shared
Hornyák lists what senior staff should pass on:
“We should share how to build trust, understand all the different, sometimes competing perspectives, how to represent your organisation’s interests, and when it is actually necessary to back down, or to close the door to cooperation.”
The last item is the most unusual. Diplomatic training usually stresses cooperation. Hornyák adds that one must also know when to back down and even when to close the door. Representing an organisation’s interests includes knowing the point at which a relationship is no longer worth the cost.

Fourth observation: beyond politics
The assessment closes with a wider claim:
“And mastering this skill is not just handy for politics, but for all aspects of our professional lives.”

The logic of the assessment

The logic of the assessment
Skills can be taught, but formal knowledge is not enough. The teaching should begin early and be carried by senior colleagues as part of ordinary work. Its content includes trust, competing perspectives, representation and the judgment to back down. And its value reaches well beyond politics.

The role of Business Diplomat

The role of Business Diplomat
The platform’s mission is to give young people experience, bring a diplomatic order to the business world, and benefit states by revitalising the economy. Hornyák’s call for natural mentoring from senior staff describes something the platform can offer: contact between young professionals and experienced diplomats and executives, in settings where informal conversation is possible.

Conclusion
Diplomatic skill includes the ability to achieve something in an informal conversation, and that ability is learnt through early exposure and natural mentoring. The knowledge to be shared covers trust, perspective, representation and the judgment of when to back down. Business Diplomat aims to create the conditions for this kind of mentoring.