{"id":57411,"date":"2024-10-16T19:28:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"\/a29fa9y\/how-to-be-tactful\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T14:11:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:11:27","slug":"how-to-be-tactful","status":"publish","type":"product-content","link":"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/a29fa9y\/how-to-be-tactful\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be Tactful"},"content":{"rendered":"
Respond intelligently, even to unintelligent treatment. \u2013 Lao-Tzu, Chinese philosopher<\/blockquote>

<\/p>

One of your brightest team members, Jon, has just finished giving a presentation. He seems pleased with his performance, but it’s obvious that he wasn’t properly prepared. His presentation was poorly researched and badly organized, and you’re disappointed by his lack of effort.<\/p>

Before everyone has left the conference room, Jon asks for your feedback. You tell him that his presentation was sloppy and disorganized, and that you had expected better from him.<\/p>

Unsurprisingly, Jon is visibly upset, and you immediately regret your comments. You wanted to be honest, but you didn’t want to hurt his feelings, especially in front of other people. A month later, Jon hands in his resignation.<\/p>

We all have to communicate painful or sensitive information at some point in our careers. And, while it’s important to tell the truth, we need to think about how we do it. Tact allows us to be honest, while respecting a person’s feelings.<\/p>

When we communicate tactfully, we can preserve relationships, build credibility, and demonstrate thoughtfulness. In this article, we examine what tact is, and look at how you can develop this important quality.<\/p>\n\n

What Is Tact?<\/h2>\n\n

Tact is the ability to tell the truth in a way that considers other people’s feelings and reactions. It allows you to give difficult feedback, communicate sensitive information, and say the right thing to preserve a relationship.<\/p>

Tact encompasses many things, including emotional intelligence<\/a>, respect, discretion, self-awareness<\/a>, thoughtfulness, compassion, subtlety, honesty, diplomacy, and courtesy.<\/p>\n\n

Why Is Tact Important?<\/h2>\n\n

The ability to communicate with sensitivity offers many benefits.<\/p>

First, tact is important when you have to deliver bad news<\/a> or provide critical feedback, whether in a personal or professional situation.<\/p>

Next, communicating tactfully strengthens your reputation and builds your credibility<\/a>. It allows you to preserve existing relationships and build new ones. A tactful approach shows character, maturity, professionalism<\/a>, and integrity<\/a>.<\/p>

Tact also demonstrates good manners<\/a>. If you can communicate with grace and consideration, you’ll stand out from the crowd and you’ll get noticed<\/a> for the right reasons. This can lead to career opportunities.<\/p>

Finally, tact can help you to avoid conflict, find common ground, and allow others to save face. It can therefore be an important asset in negotiations and in conflict resolution.<\/p>

Tip 1:<\/strong><\/p>

Tact is strongly influenced by culture.<\/p>

What might be seen as open, fair feedback in some cultures might be seen as profoundly rude in others; while a message from a manager from a tactful culture may be seen as weak \u2013 or missed entirely \u2013 by a team member from a more forthright one.<\/p>

Make sure that you are culturally alert<\/a> when providing feedback to people from a different background. And tweak the examples below to suit your own culture. Tip 2:<\/strong><\/p>

It’s great to be tactful, however, you also need to get your message across and ensure that your own rights are respected. Make sure that you handle issues assertively<\/a>, not submissively, when you are being tactful.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Examples<\/h4>\n\n

We’ve outlined a couple of examples of tact below:<\/p>