You are learning diplomatic rhetoric: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (concessive structures in diplomatic english), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
The Yale Club of New York City, Midtown, then dinner at Ai Fiori
The negotiation had stalled. Twelve stakeholders, three languages, one conference room at the Yale Club, and zero consensus. The proposed resolution on urban housing policy had been debated for five hours. Each side had entrenched. The moderator called a dinner break, and I walked with the lead negotiator to Ai Fiori on Fifth Avenue.
Over handmade pasta, she explained the art of the concession. 'You never attack the other side's position,' she said. 'You acknowledge it. You take note of it. You call it valid, thoughtful, well-intentioned. And then you redirect.' She had brokered three international agreements using this method. The key, she said, was the phrase 'be that as it may.'
'Be that as it may' is the most diplomatically elegant pivot in the English language. It concedes everything and surrenders nothing. You validate the objection, you signal good faith, and then you return to your argument with renewed authority. The other party feels heard. You feel uncompromised. The impasse softens.
After dinner, we returned to the Yale Club. She opened with: 'We take note of the delegate's concerns — and we do not dismiss them lightly. Be that as it may, we would submit that the revised framework addresses these concerns in substance.' Within forty minutes, the impasse broke. The concession had cost her nothing. The agreement was worth everything.