Corneliu Bjola, now a respected professor at the University of Oxford (http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/people/arDetails?qeh_id=BJO1CF3251), has invited me to address his students in my first visit to Oxford on January 26-27. We both agreed that sharing some insights from my experience with the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest would add to their formal training in diplomacy and international relations.

http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/events-1/xevent?diary_id=6065

I therefore decided to title my lecture „The use of soft skills in diplomatic service”. As you can note from the link above, this lecture was part of the Global Governance and Diplomacy Public Speaking Series.

I have focused in my lecture on how to build contacts among politicians and develop a working relationship with them, on the importance of details in organizing events, on good communication skills. I told them how important is to get a map of the power structure inside an institution or a political organization, especially if one wants to get things done. I have stressed again the importance of politeness, of being reliable and effective, of being forthcoming and available and insisted that real networking is when people see each other face-to-face. I offered many examples from my extensive experience with the Embassy, including the one with the tactics used to get lots of politicians on a U.S. ship in Constanta. I was glad to have Jonathan Scheele in the audience…

It is my first lecture on this topic and (apologize my lack of modesty), I think I have plenty of insights and advises to share…

Oxford is lovely (of course, nothing compares to my alma mater Cambridge) and if you like to enjoy the pictures I have taken strolling on the streets, just click here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laur_stefan/sets/72157650162446968/