Diplomacy & Etiquette
International Behaviour. Protocol. Presence
Hidden Secrets a Book Never Taught You
Welcome to our Smart Autarky Courses
Presence. Power. Judgment. When protocol no longer reaches. First Hand experience.
International Protocol & Diplomacy form the foundation of professional conduct in international, diplomatic, and cross-cultural contexts. This programme explores etiquette, presence, and first-hand practices that go beyond written rules and formal manuals.
Do you ever feel unseen — even when you are right?
Not ignored. Not unheard. But quietly dismissed, while the room convinces itself that everything is understood.
For human rights defenders, this happens regularly. But it is not limited to that field. It happens wherever complexity exceeds comfort.
Do you want to change it?
Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions
Winston Churchill
Learn how your tutor did it with a judge of a highest court
In a recent high-level legal context, cooperation between Hannah and diplomatic counterparts was dismissed as “conspiracy theory” — not because it lacked substance, but because engaging with international law was considered too complex, too time-consuming, and, quite frankly, inconvenient. The matter was not debated. It was avoided.
When clarity is labelled disruption, and expertise is reframed as speculation, diplomacy becomes necessary.
When Hannah read the judgment… she laught loud. In 20 years she never heard such lack of reality, absurdity.
Hannah picked up the phone, and called the state directly to announce a so called unlafwul kingdom.
Not to accuse. Not to escalate. But to restore orientation and to reach the hand.
She called it the latest diplomatic joke. She pointed out, calmly, that when international cooperation is dismissed without examination, it is not the individual who is undermined — it is the sovereignty and credibility of the state itself. As the protection shield and an elite Human Rights Defender it is her ethics and diplomacy to reach out to those understand and are able to decide for humanity.
Reason, in that moment, had to speak somewhere.
This we call the lighthouse diplomacy: Having the right phone number when illusion of understanding and price of ignorance raising up.
What happened to the judge ? The end of the story she will tell you in the course.
He was on her wish list to restore reputation and dignity. Hannah is known for her humor and creativity.
We know how to eat at court – and when to break the rules.
This programme is shaped by Hannah Bock, Speeaker to UN Human Rights Council, former Deputy Head of Delegation for Civil Society, a role held at equivalent diplomatic rank to a second ambassador of a state.
She has roots in European nobility and roots within the old Kingdom of Ségou. She was trained in court traditions across major regions, including French diplomacy and the historic Schönbrunn German court tradition as well as cultures across the globe.
She knows:
- how to sit correctly at court, at a dinner, go outsite of a car in a dress
- how to speak when silence is expected
- how to dress and to do your make up safely
- how to break a rule without ever shaming anyone
Because real etiquette is not obedience.
It is judgment.
In our Smart Autarky Courses we focus on diplomacy as a subtle method for managing conflict, negotiating, or dismissing opposing views without causing immediate rupture. Later in the Mastermind courses or private lessons, we show you as well how to survive a state dinner, how to know if it is a good wine and how you impress anyone as you would be a sommelier.
Hannah Bock knows those moments. First-hand
At the United Nations, Hannah was known for something unusual.
She would ask diplomats, ambassadors for a coffee or call a special rapporteur on the phone—
and turn a crisis in the Sahel into a lighthouse moment or rescue with a call someones life.
Not in plenary. Not on record. Only the little corner in at the café at Palais des Nations in Geneva.
But in the quiet spaces where real diplomacy happens.
Sometimes, she was handed a microphone by a state, because civil society was not officially allowed to speak.
Protocol allowed it — because wisdom demanded it.
There is an unspoken rule in diplomacy:
When an elite defender has an idea but no voice, a diplomat is kind and wise enough to recognise it.
That is what happens behind secret doors.
A defining moment
When Hannah first entered the House of Lords, she did not introduce herself.
She did not explain her background.
A senior Lord observed her quietly, understood her origins and then said:
“When protocol no longer reaches far enough, the ancestor wool and a Lord must fulfil their duty to heritage. One must know and understand who stands before them — even when it cannot be seen and named.”
“Highness.”
No title had been claimed. No rule had been cited. Yet the room adjusted.
That is presence.
Hidden Secrets a Book Never Taught You
Presence. Power. Judgment. When protocol no longer reaches.
International Protocol & Diplomacy form the foundation of professional conduct in international, diplomatic, and cross-cultural contexts. This programme explores etiquette, presence, and first-hand practices that go beyond written rules and formal manuals.
This is not about knowing the rules
It is about knowing who you are when the rules fall silent.
Everyone can learn protocol. Very few understand when protocol stops working.
This programme is about what happens behind closed doors:
when hierarchy is unclear, when power shifts, when no one officially has the microphone — and yet decisions are made.
If you have ever sensed that diplomacy is less about rules and more about recognition, you are right.
Hannah Bock knows those moments. First-hand
At the United Nations, Hannah was known for something unusual.
She would ask diplomats, ambassadors for a coffee or call a special rapporteur on the phone—
and turn a crisis in the Sahel into a lighthouse moment or rescue with a call someones life.
Not in plenary. Not on record. Only the little corner in at the café at Palais des Nations in Geneva.
But in the quiet spaces where real diplomacy happens.
Sometimes, she was handed a microphone by a state, because civil society was not officially allowed to speak.
Protocol allowed it — because wisdom demanded it.
There is an unspoken rule in diplomacy:
When an elite defender has an idea but no voice, a diplomat is kind and wise enough to recognise it.
That is what happens behind secret doors.
We know how to eat at court
And we know when to break the rules.
This programme is shaped by Hannah Bock, former United Nations speaker and Deputy Head of Delegation for Civil Society, a role held at equivalent diplomatic rank to a second ambassador of a state.
She has roots in European nobility and roots within the Kingdom of Ségou (today Mali).
She was trained in court traditions across major regions, including French diplomacy and the historic Schönbrunn German court tradition.
She knows:
-
how to sit correctly at court
-
how to speak when silence is expected
- how to dress and make up
-
how to break a rule without ever shaming anyone
Because real etiquette is not obedience.
It is judgment.
A defining moment
When Hannah first entered the House of Lords, she did not introduce herself.
She did not explain her background.
A senior Lord observed her quietly, understood her origins and then said:
“When protocol no longer reaches far enough, the ancestor wool and a Lord must fulfil their duty to heritage. One must know and understand who stands before them — even when it cannot be seen and named.”
“Highness.”
No title had been claimed. No rule had been cited. Yet the room adjusted.
That is presence.
When protocol turns into a joke — and someone remains responsible
She laughed.
Not out of defiance.
Not out of disrespect.
But because the situation had quietly crossed the line from legal reasoning into absurdity.
Then Hannah did something unexpected.
She took out her phone.
And said calmly:
“In that case, I should probably call the government and inform them that UN diplomacy has officially been reclassified as a conspiracy theory.”
A pause.
A smile.
Then she added, almost gently:
“Someone has to remain reasonable when the price of ignorance becomes visible.”
She did not call to provoke.
She called to protect.
Not her own position —
but the diplomatic integrity and sovereignty of a state.
Shortly thereafter, the misunderstanding was acknowledged.
An apology followed.
Not because power had been challenged —
but because responsibility had been exercised.
Blue tea
Later, she asked quietly:
“Blue tea?”
Those who understood smiled.
In diplomatic circles, blue tea is not a drink.
It is a symbol — of market shifts, of subtle power realignments, of moments when influence moves without noise.
No confrontation.
No spectacle.
Just recognition.
