Quotes About Tact

It was a very powerful politeness.

We believe in letting our light shine, but not shining it in the eyes of other people.

Argument need not be heated; it can be punctuated with courteous smiles - or sympathetic tears.

A ta place, je tournerais la langue sept fois avant de parler, répliqua-t-il, une pointe d'espièglerie dans les yeux. - Dans ta bouche ou la mienne? Il se redressa et haussa un sourcil, l'air surpris. - Isabella, serais-tu en train de me faire du charme? Celle-ci poussa un long soupire théâtral. - Pas très subtil, hein?

When you're up against a superior enemy, sometimes it's okay to just bow out gracefully

Tact is not a small thing; in the battle of life it is more powerful than a bludgeon.

One lesson you better learn if you want to be in politics is that you never go out on a golf course and beat the President.

At court you must say less than you think and only speak as much of the truth as will do you good.

Truly good manners are invisible: they ease the way for others, without drawing attention to themselves. It is no accident that the word "punctilious" ("attentive to formality or etiquette") comes from the same original root as punctuation.

I want to keep the peace. I want to be gentle, not confrontational.

A spoonful of sugar can be as helpful in dealing with foreign diplomats as it is in child psychology, for these are not unrelated fields.

Girls possess sexual tact in inverse proportion to their standard of education.

THERE'S NO NEED TO BE CRUDE,' said Owen Meany.

Class is knowing what to say, when it should be said and knowing when you should stop.

I can't believe you just quoted a Steve Miller tune to the leader of an alien race, Van Doren, standing next to me, muttered under his breath. Shut up, I muttered back. It worked.

It is not good to want a thing too much. It sometimes drives the luck away. You must want it just enough, and you must be very tactful with Gods or the gods.

it is important to understand the purpose of criticism. Criticism is not meant to punish, but rather to correct something that is preventing better results. The only goal of criticism or discipline is improvement. You must keep that in mind and try to the best of your ability to use tact.

Never make any reference to the other person's family. "You're just like your - " because that is out, completely.

If a well-constituted individual refrains from blazoning aught amiss or calamitous in his family, a nation in the like circumstance may without reproach be equally discreet.

Why use a sledgehammer when a butterfly net will suffice?

Diplomacy is to do and say, the nastiest thing in the nicest way.

Being pretty doesn't mean that I'm dumb. As well as being silent in a situation doesn't mean that I'm wise. Merely look at it my way; I'm pretty because of all the ugliness I've seen and dealt with and I'm silent in your wake because even an idiot knows when to bite their tongue!

Always use tasteful words - you may have to eat them.

Tact: getting your point across without stabbing someone with it.