The Art of Tact
Tact is important
One of the most important people skills in life is the use of tact.
Tact can be described by many words, being thoughtful and sensitive are among the top ones. Caring about how another person feels and sensing their thought pattern by observing their body language and facial expressions is a
good way to engage another person.
Many situations we are faced with today call for the use of tact. If, for example, a colleague is having personal issues at home, it’s not a good idea to pepper them with questions about their home life at that moment, or to let
them know how great your life at home is. To them, it would be like rubbing salt into an open wound, because the last thing they want to hear about is how great someone else’s life is. Being open and understanding, with sensitive body language will likely soothe the person for a period of time and they will appreciate and remember how you treated them in a moment of need.
Tact can be applied to other situations as well.
There are those people that constantly push themselves on other people without considering whether they are inconveniencing, or even angering the other person in that situation. This type of person is selfishly thinking what they want out of the relationship without knowing, or caring, they are irritating the other individual. They often call at the wrong time, or drop by unannounced and expect to be entertained and never seem to want to leave. It does not matter how many hints you drop either. For example, suppose you are cooking, or about to leave to get groceries, and this person drops by. They don’t seem to “get it” that you are in motion to perform a task, and won’t leave unless you are abrupt. Even though you are clearly on a timeline they appear totally oblivious.
When tactful people need to be abrupt, it can cause a lowering of the emotional scale, because they really don’t know why that other person won’t leave. So they need to tell them, as nicely as they can, they have to go. This will hopefully go as smoothly as possible as not to hurt the other persons feelings, but if you need to get something done, they are not going to do it for you, so it must be done.
Tact also depends on whether you have empathy and were raised with this value by your parents, so it’s important to understand not everyone has this trait.
In a multicultural society, people come from all walks of life. Some cultures are less tactful than others, so it’s essential to realize that everyone is different and to be as kind as you can with anyone you meet. We can all learn from each other, if you are a tactful person pass along those skills, because other people may have skills you have do not have that you can observe and learn.
It’s a global village now, and tact can go a long way to helping each other on the road of life, so share the kindness with other people to make this a better world.
Tact can be described by many words, being thoughtful and sensitive are among the top ones. Caring about how another person feels and sensing their thought pattern by observing their body language and facial expressions is a
good way to engage another person.
Many situations we are faced with today call for the use of tact. If, for example, a colleague is having personal issues at home, it’s not a good idea to pepper them with questions about their home life at that moment, or to let
them know how great your life at home is. To them, it would be like rubbing salt into an open wound, because the last thing they want to hear about is how great someone else’s life is. Being open and understanding, with sensitive body language will likely soothe the person for a period of time and they will appreciate and remember how you treated them in a moment of need.
Tact can be applied to other situations as well.
There are those people that constantly push themselves on other people without considering whether they are inconveniencing, or even angering the other person in that situation. This type of person is selfishly thinking what they want out of the relationship without knowing, or caring, they are irritating the other individual. They often call at the wrong time, or drop by unannounced and expect to be entertained and never seem to want to leave. It does not matter how many hints you drop either. For example, suppose you are cooking, or about to leave to get groceries, and this person drops by. They don’t seem to “get it” that you are in motion to perform a task, and won’t leave unless you are abrupt. Even though you are clearly on a timeline they appear totally oblivious.
When tactful people need to be abrupt, it can cause a lowering of the emotional scale, because they really don’t know why that other person won’t leave. So they need to tell them, as nicely as they can, they have to go. This will hopefully go as smoothly as possible as not to hurt the other persons feelings, but if you need to get something done, they are not going to do it for you, so it must be done.
Tact also depends on whether you have empathy and were raised with this value by your parents, so it’s important to understand not everyone has this trait.
In a multicultural society, people come from all walks of life. Some cultures are less tactful than others, so it’s essential to realize that everyone is different and to be as kind as you can with anyone you meet. We can all learn from each other, if you are a tactful person pass along those skills, because other people may have skills you have do not have that you can observe and learn.
It’s a global village now, and tact can go a long way to helping each other on the road of life, so share the kindness with other people to make this a better world.
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