Contacts and Personal Networking Techniques

Abstract

Public diplomacy practitioners regard direct, face-to-face oral communication as one of the most powerful techniques for communication across cultural borders. Edward R. Murrow, who was President Kennedy’s USIA director, famously said, “It has always seemed to me the real art in this business is not so much moving information or guidance or policy five or 10,000 miles. That is an electronic problem. The real art is to move it the last three feet in face to face conversation.” ¹ He meant that face-to-face engagement with the audience is a very effective public diplomacy tool that can facilitate almost everything the public affairs section wants to accomplish. Experienced practitioners agree, and they often cite Murrow’s “last three feet” rule. ² A veteran PD officer and scholar, with tongue in cheek, calls face-to-face communication a “Killer App.” He says: “Far more effectively than Twitter, Facebook, or other social media, it brings people together, leading to significant exchanges of ideas and in-depth relationships.” ³ Although Murrow made his career in broadcasting, he knew that the best way to conduct public diplomacy was in face-to-face encounters. The reason is that in such encounters, the American diplomat can engage in an interactive dialogue, during which he or she can develop a nuanced understanding of the perceptions and concerns of the target individual, and speak directly to those concerns in trying to dispel misconceptions and achieve better understanding.