Australian diplomat Joe Hockey says a key facet of diplomacy will always hamper deals with maverick world leaders. 

In a new memoir, Diplomat, chronicling his time in Washington, Mr Hockey delves into the intricacies of managing international relations.

“I wasn’t a conventional diplomat,” he confessed to Neil Breen. “I just can’t stand that whole cocktail circuit and speaking in riddles to each other.

“My view was we had to be ourselves – if we were just ourselves and not pretending to be something else, the Americans would gravitate to us and they did.”

Mr Hockey said diplomacy ultimately boils down to human interaction and personality.

“If you get on well with someone and they’re easy to get on with, you’re going to do deals.

“One of the reasons Putin has been so hard to deal with over the years … is because he’s just not a nice character.

“He’s just not a pleasant human being and therefore, trying to have a conversation with someone you don’t like is incredibly difficult.”

Press PLAY below to hear Joe Hockey retell some humorous notes from his time as a diplomat 

Image: Nine News