Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1017IR // #c1017Synthesis

"Similarly, the word 'mediator' in Persian suggests 'meddler', someone who is barging in uninvited… His efforts were seriously set back when Iranian national radio and television broadcast in Persian a remark he reportedly made on his arrival in Tehran: 'I have come as a mediator to work out a compromise.' Within an hour of the broadcast his car was being stoned by angry Iranians."

— In our words · Source: Getting to Yes (Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton)

[Use when]

You are negotiating across languages or cultures and your standard vocabulary may detonate.

[Why it matters]

Waldheim's 1980 arrival line used two words that read as insults in Persian. Check what your key words mean in the other side's ears before you open your mouth on their airwaves.

More from Getting to Yes

#c1013"The Soviet Union finally agreed to three inspections. The United States insisted on no less than ten. And there the talks broke down —…Two sides are dug in on competing figures and nobody has defined what the figures mean. #c1014"Sadat flew to the capital of his enemies, a disputed capital which not even the United States, Israel's best friend, had recognized.…The negotiation is stuck because the other side's image of you makes agreement unthinkable. #c1015"Terms negotiated between a major city and its Hispanic community on municipal jobs were unacceptable to the mayor — until the agreement…The other side agrees with the deal but cannot be seen agreeing with you.