Tact: the sense of what to do or say to maintain good relations with others or to avoid offending them.
The first thought I had when I learned this word was about office politics. Companies culture us to be corporate zombies for our protection.
Tell me if you’ve heard at least one of the following:
- Don’t say anything directly, you’ll get into a conflict that’s not good for anyone
- Always phrase things positively, because negativity is bad
- Make small talk once in a while! If you do it enough times, you might be invited to make a big talk
All of this is wrong. The world is negative, conflict is healthy, and small talk is useless. But in corporate politics, we’ll be left behind if we don’t play like politicians. This is starting to sound like a manifesto, so let’s change the subject.
It takes tact to break the ice with strangers at a party. It takes tact to break up a fight between your kids without looking like the bad guy. It takes tact to give an honest review of a product without inadvertently disparaging the manufacturer. I think we’re all a little tactful for our own good.
It seems to me that the more tactful we are, the safer the world becomes, and the more banal life becomes.