Thanks once again for all the time and effort you put into an excellent presentation. The lessons you drew from your time in the FCO were highly pertinent to us in business.
Cicada Communications
Extreme Negotiation
Claire Smith
During an extraordinarily unconventional career in diplomacy, intelligence and security and business, Claire Smith worked in China, Pakistan, Germany and Switzerland for the UK government, Cabinet office, the German Foreign Ministry and a Major Swiss bank. She has brought rigour and objectivity to the international affairs assessments analysis of the Cabinet Office; advised prime ministers; introduced new systems to the German Foreign Ministry; negotiated successfully with the Taliban; produced novel problem-solving solutions for a major Swiss banks; and featured on a North Korean postage stamp.
An experienced trustee, non-executive director and adviser in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, her recent international activities include training, briefing and advisory roles in the Middle East, West Africa and China.
A trusted mentor and adviser, she deploys excellent foreign language ability, including Chinese, German, French and Spanish.
I’m very thankful that you gave us an opportunity to meet these INCREDIBLE people. Out of all of the speakers, I was mostly amazed by Claire!!! What a character!!! I always bow to the people who can pursue their dreams and can make a difference.
Olga Novichenk
Quality Assurance Project Lead
Claire, thank you for being such a great example of what someone can do in public service. It was fascinating to hear about your experiences. I especially appreciated being reminded that there are many decent people of goodwill in public service, despite the impressions given by the cynical mass media of today.
Loren Sherman
Design Engineer, SAFE
Amazing speaker, brought a little known subject to life. When Claire spoke you could hear a pin drop in the room. Claire has the rare ability to captivate her audience, which is quite a feat when the room is full of IT Techies. Claire combines subtle wit with fascinating stories, all the time projecting confidence and authority. I could listen to Claire speak for hours.
Allen Hughes
Technical Architect, CAFE
A great speaker, very clear, super anecdotes – engaging. I’d love to see her again
WIFM Conference
Truly an amazing work trajectory. Could have listened to her all day with all her experiences. Would absolutely love to hear more of what training and preparation that she does prior to entering a hostage negotiation situation. So down to earth and relatable. Her interpersonal skills, awareness and listening skills were off the charts. Makes me wish I could re-think my career, and I’ve always loved what I do.
Lisa Pravorne-Turner
Sr. Director, SAFE
Her entire presentation I spent listening to her stories with my jaw dropped or frantically taking notes. It was all so inspiring. I can tell she carefully selected topics to cover, ensuring all the subject matter had the dual purpose of passing along helpful work life lessons, and discussing program and crisis management. Her lessons on apprenticeship, brand recognition, adapting and allowing our careers to be “imperfect”, pushing outside of our comfort zones, and stakeholder management were all insightful topics.
She spoke specifically at the end about finding female role models and not letting others tell your story, and this resonated with me a great deal. Her delivery of the entire presentation was so gracefully composed and controlled, not rushed, or self-deprecating in any way, and that’s something I aspire to be able to do better. Most importantly, she’s so warm and charming. I can see why she’s effective at negotiating in crisis situations, as she puts you at ease, and is probably able to very quickly get to the heart of what you want and need. Very disarming 🙂 Having her there in person would be so impactful to our group – I hope she is able to come to LA next time!
Liz Palladino
Claire’s experience as a diplomat was very interesting and insightful. She did a great job in relating those experiences to work situations and skills that we might use in our daily jobs (i.e. relationship building, negotiating, etc.).
Claudio Venturini
Sr. Business Analyst, SAFE
[Claire’s] presentation on negotiation was captivating and invaluable – tons of takeaways for all attendees. Spot on interpretation of the event brief. Reviews were excellent. By far our most successful event this year!
Chair of APM Women In Project Management
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your very impressive career with us. I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and Q&A.
Kevin Todd
Sr. Business Analyst TV Licensing
Claire, thank you for sharing your amazing international diplomatic life experience with us. Looking forward to another round of long conversation when you visit us again in LA.
Karthi Ramalingam
Manager, SAFE
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