Tact Quotes

A timid question will always receive a confident answer.

Let us agree not to step on each other's feet said the cock to the horse.

English Proverb

If a person has no delicacy he has you in his power.

William Hazlitt

Tact is the intelligence of the heart.

Anonymous

Silence is not always tact and it is tact that is golden not silence.

Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.

Charles de Gaulle

A distinguished diplomat could hold his tongue in ten languages.

Anonymous

Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.

Diplomacy the art of saying 'nice doggie' till you can find a rock.

If any pilgrim monk come from distant parts with wish as a guest to dwell in the monastery and will be content with the customs which he finds in the place and does not perchance by his lavishness disturb the monastery but is simply content with what he finds he shall be received for as long as he desires. If indeed he find fault with anything or expose it reasonably and with the humility of charity the Abbott shall discuss it prudently lest perchance God had sent him for this very thing. But if he have been found gossipy and contumacious in the time of his sojourn as guest not only ought he not be joined to the body of the monastery but also it shall be said to him honestly that he must depart. If he does not go let two stout monks in the name of God explain the matter to him.

An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

Women and foxes being weak are distinguished by superior tact.

Without tact you can learn nothing.

Benjamin Disraeli

To have the reputation of possessing the most perfect social tact talk to every woman as if you loved her and to every man as if he bored you.

Tact: the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

Abraham Lincoln

[She] had the indefinable charm of someone who said little but thought much. Miss Prim had always felt that such people were at a marked advantage. They never said anything tactless, never spouted nonsense, never had cause to regret their words or justify themselves.

Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera

The sea is a lonely and hostile place, Captain,' Jansen said coldly. 'It is always best not to make enemies of those who might be your friends. You never know when your ships may cross

In any case, I hadn’t gone into the subject of dorm living too deeply with him, not because I hesitated to probe his tender spots but because I would have been probing my own. This is called tact, and is reputed to be a virtue.

Dr. Cox: Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present, Man Not Caring.[points to self]

In this slipshod age, we need object lessons in language and thought. – Edith Wharton on an address by John Hay

John Taliaferro

Tact by its nature entails staying mum, prudently electing to forgo urging other people to pursue an alternative course of action. Creation of silent spaces in our own life and equitable distribution of periods of respite that allow for periods of equable inner reflection is necessary to spur personal growth. It is equally important to honor other people’s intrinsic need for periods of introspection, uninterrupted by unsolicited advice

Kilroy J. Oldster

Often people that tell others they are "extremely polite" when the situation calls for tact and bluntness are not actually polite people. Instead, they hide behind the word “polite” because they have low self esteem or hidden agendas. Sadly, they impolitely confuse the hell out of everyone, send mixed signals, which then makes people question their sanity and motives.

Shannon L. Alder

If you don’t find the right set of eyes to see through your bull, you will always be surrounded by friends that will tell you white lies because they like your company and don’t want to ruin the evening.

Shannon L. Alder

...[F]rom me you shall hear the whole truth; not, I can assure you, gentlemen, in flowery language... decked out with fine words and phrases; no, what you will hear will be a straightforward speech in the first words that occur to me, confident as I am in the justice of my cause; and I do not want any of you to expect anything different.

Socrates

Being popular doesn’t always win spiritual change. Christ didn’t pour out the coins of the moneychangers and overturn their tables with any degree of manners when he cleansed the temple. His harshness drew a point—to make people realize how much better they could become.

Shannon L. Alder

Arrogance, disrespect and demand have higher price.Kindness, respect and tact give better prize.

I am convinced that I never wrong anyone intentionally...

Socrates

Never start a sentence with the words 'No offense.

...[S]ome of the opinions which people entertain should be respected, and others should not.

Socrates

I'm accustomed to reading Georgian and Victorian letters and sometimes you simply know in your gut that a blithe sentence is covering up a deeper emotion.

I'm accustomed to reading Georgian and Victorian letters and sometimes you simply know in your gut that a blithe sentence is covering up a deeper emotion.

A positive is just two negatives going in two different directions. So, if something doesn't work, change tact, and come at it from a different direction. You never know, it may just work.That's being positive for ya!

Anthony T.Hincks

I never say the things I really want to. If I did, I'd have no friends.

Chelsea Handler

Only a writer "with Bennett's craft and brass could manage to praise and insult his readers at the same time.

I hate the way, once you start to know someone, care about them, their behavior can distress you, even when it's unreasonable and not your fault, even if you were really trying to be careful, tactful.

In Your Early Years people Tell You, Correct You and Forgive You. But when you become an Adult, they Neither Correct you nor Forgive You

Vineet Raj Kapoor

Tact is an ability to live in the midst of ugliness without getting ugly.

Debasish Mridha

Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.

Warren W. Wiersbe