Tact - this is the property of the subject to adhere to a certain measure in conversation, in committing acts, as well as the ability to assess the situation in advance and find an effective way to resolve conflicts without causing moral damage. A person who can act in accordance with the established norm of etiquette, regardless of the situation, is called tactful. Tact is the secret to personal success in all areas of life. In particular, one should not forget that tact, as part of an individual’s character, is formed on the basis of natural qualities, in the process of hard work on oneself, during the period of upbringing and training.
The meaning of the word tact from the Latin language is to touch or touch. It follows from this that tactfulness makes it possible to “understand” the current situation, behavior, feelings, and subject of interaction. One who has a sense of proportion, who knows how to understand the needs, desires and experiences of the interlocutor, will always be a welcome person in society.
What is tact
Tact, allows a person to behave culturally among people, to take into account all the specifics of the situation, which is indicated by a kind of aesthetics. Tactfulness is the ability, if necessary, to talk about a mistake, make comments so as not to belittle the dignity of a person, not to hurt his feelings, spare his vanity, and despite everything, not sticking out his own merits.
A tactful person knows how to utter a false impression or offend an opponent. When you should not speak sarcastically, under what conditions do not mention errors or non-standard appearance. Such an individual, on the contrary, will be able to pick up good words to praise or cheer up the interlocutor. He will find a way to suspend the conversation in time, which can contribute to the beginning of the development of the conflict , or to suspend others who are not correctly speaking in his direction.
To possess a similar quality, it is not enough just to follow universally recognized rules and norms of behavior. The main thing is the meaning of the word tact - this is the possession of a sense of proportion, the ability to find the trait that you should not go beyond. At the same time, be unobtrusive, do not offer your help, or, do not advise, a person who does not need.
Tact allows an individual who does not seek to change his point of view to redirect the conversation in the opposite direction, which will avoid the occurrence of a dispute or misunderstanding.
In order to master the true skills of being a tactful person, you should always improve yourself. A person should not forget that there are people around who can serve as an example for us, motivate to form and expand our horizons. A person is a multifaceted personality, observing her behavior, one can learn to predict actions, an emotional state, and learn a lot of new things about others and about oneself. The study of personality psychology helps to find the true path to the development of such an important quality. A person endowed with a sense of tact is able to feel himself in the role of another, which gives him the opportunity to more subtly understand the actions and feelings of others, to understand their state of mind.
Observing the daily actions of people, it makes sense to pay attention that the implementation of etiquette by the subject does not necessarily indicate the presence of the qualities of a tactful personality. A person who hides anger , arrogance, disrespect, resentment in his soul can only resemble a tactful person outwardly, but his actions will be accompanied by falsity and pretense. The ability to understand the interlocutor, not to impose one’s opinion on him, to control the emotional development of the situation, the correct approach to exposing people who are able to blindly hide behind a screen of etiquette.
Tact in communication
Tact can be called a friendly approach to people, as a rule, a similar principle of behavior is the basis of etiquette. If a person is not obsessed with his own significance and well-being, but thinks about the feelings and feelings of others, then he receives the status of a tactful person automatically. Tact is based on the special qualities of the individual’s character, which each person is obliged to form for himself throughout his life. Namely, the manifestation of such qualities contributes to comfortable communication in all life situations.
The fundamental manifestation of tact in communication is considered the ability not only to listen to the interlocutor, but most importantly to feel that he is trying to communicate, not to interrupt, to listen to the end. Even if the point of view of the opponent is not appropriate or may be touchy, do not forget about tact when responding to his statements. The use of mutual respect and understanding is no other than the fundamental components of tactful communication. Also, characteristic features of similar communication is a person’s ability to take into account the situation in which events unfold: the discrepancy in the age of opponents, their social status, gender, and the presence of surrounding listeners. Despite everything, a tactful person never shows his dislike to the interlocutor, but rather tries in every possible way to understand his beliefs, to feel his condition.
Individuals with a high degree of tactfulness, as a rule, adapt to any conditions of interaction, always behave naturally, relaxed and relaxed, they do not play this role, they do not behave arrogantly and familiarly. The ability to communicate in this way helps the individual in a different way to avoid unsolvable situations, and most importantly, not to belittle the dignity of another person.
A person who has a sense of tact often has the ability to win over those around him, such people are most often called deeply educated and well-bred. And this contributes to the personality to always be desired in society, it will be appreciated in various companies, both among friends and in the work team. An individual with a pronounced tactful behavior will have a reputation as a reliable person, because it is not a secret that such individuals will never say too much, find a way out of an awkward situation and be able to stop an unwanted conversation in time.
Tact, after all, is not only an innate personality trait, it can also be learned. For the effective development of the qualities of a tactful person, we must learn to relate to those around us, in this way, just as we would like them to relate to us. You should learn to “dress” on your own jokes, rash behavior, vivid emotions. This will help a person realize that with a huge number of differences, all people are similar. And from this it follows: everything that causes discomfort and hostility among ourselves, cannot possibly please another. Tact should be formed from childhood, to teach the child that such an attitude toward life will help him distinguish between the needs and emotions of the people around him, easily find friends, maintain any conversation, and achieve success in learning and professional activities.
Examples of tact, that is, its manifestations, are very easy to notice in all life situations. For example, a teacher or teacher who is attentive and respectful to each student, and does not focus on their shortcomings, behaves towards them tactfully. Or parents who do not allow themselves or others to indecently express themselves in the presence of a child, or punish him for misconduct in front of the audience. Colleagues, noticing a mistake in your report, will not celebrate it publicly, but will talk about it personally, this is also an example of tactful behavior.
A tactful person, will not impose his own opinion, boast or elevate himself above others, does not ask intimate-personal questions that can immerse the interlocutor in an uncomfortable position. As a rule, tactful people who will not sort things out in plain sight, everything that happens in their personal lives, prefer not to be put on public display, which subsequently helps to maintain family ties, comfort and mutual understanding in family life.
So, it should be noted that a person’s natural intuition, his upbringing, an extensive amount of knowledge and skills, and most importantly a respectful approach to people, are the basis of such a quality of personality as tact. A person capable of tactfulness always bases his opinion on a subtle sensation of a sensual state and the experiences of the person with whom he interacts. Examples of tact in behavior, you can give countless times. Their vivid reflection can be seen not only in everyday life, but also in well-known literary works, by reading which we ourselves learn to be considerate.
Possibly, tact is not the most important personality trait, because there are other qualities, for example, devotion, love, empathy . However, it is worth emphasizing that without tact, the risk of harming another person is much higher than with a reasonable possession of this quality. For example, a person who was brought up from childhood according to the rule “always help your neighbor” can do irreparable harm with his help, just because he took into account the wishes and preferences of his opponent. The ability to understand and take into account the wishes of those who are close by makes it possible to help them, without going beyond the limits of what is permitted. At the same time, it allows you to effortlessly push you to find strength in yourself and solve problems yourself, as they wish.
A person who seeks tactful behavior has several advantages:
- constantly working on himself;
- reduces the likelihood of rudeness and disrespect for oneself;
- does not exalt itself above others;
- Learns to be attentive to others, regardless of age, gender or status;
- learns not to notice mistakes, but rather stimulate the development of human dignity;
- strive to know the multifaceted world, and yourself.