Fireside chat: Negotiation under pressure - lessons from global diplomacy
Live sessionMain Stage
2025-10-09 | 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM | Main hall
Information
Claire Smith has negotiated with the Taliban, briefed Prime Ministers, and handled some of the world’s most sensitive diplomatic flashpoints.
In this keynote, she applies those experiences to the everyday pressures brokers face—renewals, capacity challenges, tough clients, and internal negotiations. Drawing on her experience of global diplomacy, Claire explains how mindset, tone, preparation, and timing shape outcomes more than facts or figures. This isn’t theory, it’s hard-earned advice on how to lead difficult conversations with calm, clarity, and control.
- What disciplines separate successful commercial negotiators from average performers?
- How do mindset, tone, and preparation affect broker-client conversations?
- What diplomatic techniques apply to market-facing roles in broking?
- How should brokers frame value and risk during price pushback?
- Where can confidence be built through practice, not instinct?
Speakers
Claire Smith
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Former British Senior Diplomat