- Stand your ground. Being diplomatic means standing up for yourself, so do it. Be firm in your responses and opinions and stand by them.
- Focus on the facts of the situation. Take a moment to step back and evaluate the situation objectively and assess the factual information before you without including your emotions.
- Think before you act. Even if you’re angry or feeling offended, take a second to breathe and think things through before you say or do anything. If you have to, actually think, “Breathe!” in your head to keep yourself calm. It might seem difficult, but taking that extra second to evaluate the situation will keep you from seeming hot-headed or presumptuous.
- Be non-confrontational. It’s okay to be assertive, and assertiveness can even help you get your diplomatic points heard, but avoid language that could be heard as confrontational or overly aggressive.
- Use decisive language. Speak clearly in simple language so that the person or people you’re addressing won’t misunderstand your points.
- Choose a diplomatic posture. Some of them are i) Use neutral body language to get your diplomatic point across. Look other people squarely in the eye when speaking and use a calm tone of voice. ii) Relax any parts of your body that can become tense during opinionated discussions, like your hands, shoulders and brows. iii) Avoid waving your hands when you talk as this can be viewed as aggressive or distracting. iv) Don’t think that you have to smile or laugh every two seconds to be diplomatic. Being overly friendly will make you appear facetious and your colleagues will take you less seriously.
- Avoid highly emotional situations. If you are involved in a discussion that’s already emotional charged or argumentative, your attempts to be diplomatic will go unheard.
- Refuse to be interrupted. Politely ask that the person interrupting you allow you to finish your thought and continue with your statement. Ask them to continue their thought after you’ve finished.
