Snapshot
- Role: Manager, Training and Communications (translation project lead, program designer, facilitator)
- Organization: Arbitration Council Foundation (ACF)
- Work: rights clearance, Khmer translation leadership, training program development and delivery
- Primary outcomes: localized negotiation capability building, reusable curriculum, scalable delivery model
- Deliverables: Khmer book release support, facilitator-ready training program, materials and reinforcement assets
Best for
- Primary fit: Learner Engagement and Learning Tech
- Secondary fit: Digital Adoption and Enablement (stakeholder enablement, behavior change, reinforcement)
- Also relevant: Web Strategy and Growth (content clarity, structured information design, governance mindset)
Organization disclosure
Organization name included. Rights terms and some internal training materials are not shared publicly. Deeper documentation available on request.
Context
ACF’s work required translating complex concepts into practical skills that unions, employers, and other stakeholders could use in high-stakes conversations. As part of that capacity-building effort, ACF published a Khmer version of Getting to YES to make principled negotiation accessible to Khmer-speaking audiences.
The problem
Negotiation guidance often fails in practice when:
- training is not localized for language and context
- concepts stay abstract instead of becoming usable behaviors
- participants have no structured practice (role plays, scenarios, feedback)
- learning is not reinforced after the workshop
Goals
- Obtain the necessary permissions to translate and publish the book in Khmer
- Ensure the Khmer translation is accurate, readable, and usable for non-specialists
- Turn the book’s approach into a structured training program with practice and reinforcement
- Deliver training that improves real workplace dialogue and dispute prevention behaviors
Constraints
- Rights and permissions had to be secured before publication work could proceed
- Translation needed both accuracy and accessibility (plain Khmer, consistent terms)
- Training had to remain neutral and practical across mixed stakeholder groups
What I did
1) Rights clearance and publication readiness
- Led the permissions process to secure translation rights (commercial terms not disclosed)
- Coordinated stakeholders to keep the project compliant and publication-ready
2) Led the Khmer translation project
- Oversaw translation flow and editorial QA to maintain meaning, tone, and consistency
- Ensured terminology aligned with practical use in negotiation and workplace settings
3) Built the training program from the book’s “principled negotiation” framework
- Designed a workshop curriculum based on the core model (separate people from problem, focus on interests, invent options, use objective criteria)
- Converted concepts into practice: scenarios, role plays, debrief prompts, and facilitator guidance
4) Delivered and refined training
- Facilitated training sessions and captured recurring confusion points
- Iterated materials and examples to improve comprehension and real-world transfer
Deliverables
- Rights clearance and translation project management (high level)
- Khmer translation publication support (release readiness, QA)
- Training curriculum: session plan, facilitator notes, participant activities
- Scenario library: role plays and negotiation cases aligned to workplace realities
- Reinforcement assets (quick references and practice prompts)
Results (high level)
- Supported the Khmer publication initiative, noted as available by mid-2012 in the Arbitration Council’s annual reporting.
- Delivered a repeatable negotiation training program grounded in principled negotiation, improving stakeholders’ ability to navigate difficult conversations with more structure and less friction.
Proof (public)
- Arbitration Council Annual Report 2011 reference to Khmer version of Getting to YES.
- Harvard Program on Negotiation overview of the book’s principled negotiation elements.
Skills demonstrated
Rights and permissions coordination, localization leadership, instructional design, facilitation, scenario-based learning, stakeholder enablement, continuous improvement.