In a UN meeting in New York last week, when President Ahmadinejad of Iran gave a speech, US officials walked out of the meeting and left. I think the reason they did this was to show them that US is no ally of Iran and does not tolerate their actions with their nuclear plans.
And there have always been failed negotiations between the two nations. Is this a reason why both fail to meet an agreement? Is this why US has also failed with North Korea? When in meetings especially UN ones, or negotiations of course governments have to send their best diplomat and negotiator if they want win-win results. However, I don't think those who walked out of the conference were good negotiators, communicators, nor diplomats . They shouldn't have walked away just because they did not agree with the president. WHY? because they are not good listeners. By leaving the conference, the US officials have shown no respect for the speaker. This kind of behavior should not have occurred in BIG and important conferences like that. Even in small corporate meetings people should not walk out of the meeting if they do not agree with the speaker.
By leaving the room, it shows that the US officials does not have the necessary communications skills. What is a good communicator? A good communicator not only is good at speaking out their mind or deliver the message, but they have to be a good listener. I am not writing this to criticize the US and favor Iran. This is not political, but it is what we should really think about. I mean how would you feel when someone walks away when you are talking? anger, disrespectful, has no manners, that's what you would want to say right? In that situation what do you think the Iranian President would think? I'm writing this in a human perspective. And do you think in the future US and Iran ties would develop? when both parties do this to each other?
A good communicator and good negotiator should be very good at speaking, conveying their message, and good at listening. It is not about what you say to win the conversation, but it is about how you can understand the other party's statements, and the reasons behind it. In the previous post about 'being professional' I have stressed that you should not criticize someones statement because there is always a reason behind them, and you have to understand that. If you don't agree, you should not criticize, but rather question them, get them to convince you. If they can, then pretty much they may be right, but if not, sooner they will understand that what they said was wrong. You can never get someone to think they are wrong unless they do it themselves.
Back to the topic. I think it is very important when we send people to negotiate, both political and business wise to really understand what negotiation really is. Negotiation is a conversation where both parties try to understand each others needs, and try to fulfill them and come to a win-win agreement. Negotiation is not about justifying yourself, or undermining others, but it is about understanding the other party. I hope this gave you something to think about. Enough for now. Hope you enjoyed it.
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