How Madam Secretary Models Being Diplomatic
The moral case for being diplomatic and finding ways to compromise.
Everyone has to compromise sometimes.
People like to get what they want but it's usually not the case. They rarely can get everything they want and often have to settle for getting some or most of what they're after. In order to have even that can require people to offer the pieces of it to someone else. It's a negotiation process, giving a little so they can get a lot, or vice versa. You have to get the other person or group of people to agree to the compromise. Other people need to like both you and the deal being offered. Or at least be willing to lose some in order to gain more, either in the immediate present or some time down the line in the future.
Usually, you need to be willing to put up with some level of rudeness or arrogance from the person who has what you're after. They know you want what they have and that gives them power over you or whoever you're trying to negotiate on behalf of. As a counter, it can be beneficial to create a certain amount of deference to the power they have. At least until you find your way to getting some kind of leverage over them. If you can acquire something they want or can gain access to what they're after, then you can offer that to them in order to get the thing they have.
So the question becomes what is the most beneficial way to negotiate. At what point does the price of getting what you want become too high and you have to walk away? How much would you be willing to give in order to reach an appropriate compromise? It's a delicate balance which requires an honest and upfront way of talking with those you're trying to negotiate with. Not everyone can do it well and even those who are good at it have been known to fail, spectacularly with the slightest misstep. This is part of the reason why people hire those who are to do it for them. To avoid making the wrong mistake and having something end in disaster.
Madam Secretary is fundamentally about walking that tightrope between negotiating well and trying to avoid failure. Elizabeth McCord, as played brilliantly by Tea Leoni, is working on some of the highest level negotiations anyone can do. Namely those of the Secretary of State of the United States, working with countries around the world, some of whom are friendly and others are hostile. She's working on negotiating over the lives of people in some way, often those in danger of dying due to some circumstance beyond their control.
What makes it so compelling is the way in which she is able to be diplomatic and find what it is that those on the other side are in need of and getting it to them. She does this without compromising her own position, or at least minimizing the potential damage involved for herself and those who have entrusted her with their safety.
It's fascinating to watch and I highly recommend you check it out, hopefully learning something along the way about being diplomatic.
Check it out on Netflix as well as Paramount Plus and Amazon.