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Protocol

By: Capricia Penavic Marshall
Narrated by: Capricia Penavic Marshall, Courtney Patterson
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Publisher's Summary

President Obama's former United States chief of protocol looks at why etiquette and diplomacy matter - from the international stage to everyday life.

History often appears to consist of big gestures and dramatic shifts. But for every peace treaty signed, someone set the stage, using hidden influence to effect the outcome. In her roles as chief of protocol for President Barack Obama and social secretary to President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, Capricia Penavic Marshall not only bore witness to history, she facilitated it. From arranging a room to have an intended impact on the participants to knowing which cultural gestures earned trust, her behind-the scenes preparations laid the groundwork for successful diplomacy between heads of state around the world and tilted the playing field in her team's favor.

If there's one thing that working at the highest levels of government for more than two decades has taught Marshall, it's that there is power in detail and nuance - the micro-moves that affect the macro-shifts. When seemingly minor aspects of an engagement go missing or awry - a botched greeting or even a poorly chosen menu - it alters the emotions and tenor of an exchange, setting up obstacles rather than paving a way forward. In some cases, an oversight may put the entire endeavor in jeopardy. 

Sharing unvarnished anecdotes from her time in office - harrowing near-misses, exhilarating triumphs, heartwarming personal stories - Marshall brings us a master class in soft power, unveiling the complexity of human interactions and making the case that etiquette, cultural IQ, and a flexible mindset matter now more than ever. When the notion of basic civility seems to be endangered, Protocol reminds us how critical these principles are while providing an accessible guide for anyone who wants to be empowered by the tools of diplomacy in work and everyday life. 

©2020 Capricia Penavic Marshall (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

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Supremely useful

A brilliant book, with a particularly useful guide to basic diplomatic protocol at the end - which I am sure I will come back to over and again.

There is a lot of story during the main body of the book, which is nice if you’re listening while doing other things and cements some of her advice, but it might be a bit slowly paced if you’re really trying to get to the golden nuggets in a hurry or reading to prepare for an upcoming event.

If you start listening and feel you’re not getting all the information you’d hoped for I’d strongly recommend jumping ahead to the appendix for her guide, and then coming back for the more nuanced story afterwards to gain an appreciation for the context and reasoning - which is also helpful to shape your thinking in the event you don’t know protocol for a certain situation and have to move ahead unprepared.

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