TACT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 125, 25 January 1909, Page 5

TACT.

o By W.D.H.

(Continued from issue of the 18th inst.)

To be a good listener is, again, an evidence of tact, and is a great point in making strangers at home with us. Human nature, however, is such that there are times when we are almost unable to be agreeable. t Tact then conies to the fore with the questions: "Is it politic to express ourselves disagreeably? May we not, by so doing, lose business and friendship?" Yet there must be nothing "Pecksniffian" in our manner, for he who fawns arid worms himself into favour will never have as real a hold as will the man showing a really independent spirit. Men of tact are generally succesful men, and are without prejudice. This latter quality is always a mistake, whether in politics, trade, or friendship; for by it we frequently lose points of vantage in discussion. Affection may be alienated or a favourable bargain or profit be lost. Tact is essentail to an employer if he wishes to make his assistants, -his workmen, and his family amenable to his will and desire. Tact, combined with sound .judgment, keeps a man alive to passing every day events, and enables him to steer through the shoal of difficulties which surround most traders, and particulaily the beginner or one who is inexperienced in outside matters. By want of judgment a man may perhaps nearly bring his business to grief, say, by over-buying; but with the assistance of tact he may not. only stave off the evil day, but be enabled to put a satisfactory gloss on his position. In buying, tact prevents one from losing sight of the right of the seller while obtaining for oneself the greatest value; and as a seller, it induces the recognition -of doing to others as we would have others do to us Tact and judgment are closely allied —indeed, inseparable. The former word is from the Latin, and its meaning is given as "a peculiar skill or faculty, a nice perception or discernment," whilst the latter word, "judgment," is of French origin, and means "the faculty of the mind by which man is enabled to compare ideas and ascertain the relations of terms and proportions." Thus we can easily see their affinity. Tact is a combination of perfect and careful courtesy and as such is a rare gift. . The world, as a rule, will take a man at his own price, but it will also quickly value at a low figure him who is so deficient in tact as to soar to too high an eminence or is of tco bashful a nature. Tact is an intuition which enables a man frequently to grasp a point at o.:ce and to profit by it, even more readily than can some who may have had long experience. Men and women with this gift have clear heads, and are able to bring all their forces into HfVs daily bnHlo. This faculty , of ti>ct is oi*"fi) required in ft friend if : he vci.ld shov; "o rajr vvepS-iicns'fcs \* Knout v.i the ij.ii.n) r.'iu-_ losing our ir'auv- ; ship. It is essential to employers in dealing with their workpeople, whose want of education, or perhaps, dullness of intellect, often prevents them seeing a point in the light in which it may appear to the employer. In such instances a tactful word will often help the assistant or workman to grasp the master's idea, and many mistakes may be thus averted. In censuring, as in praising, equal tact is required, for without this praise may easily give rise to vanity and presumption. One may say that tact is a sort of genius. It may sometimes be better than genius, for it is safe, steady, and certain in its result and steers clear of many dangers. It knows what to do, what to leave undone, and when to make the supreme effort. Trade competition is most useful in stimulating men to exertion. Still, if proper judgment, tact, and ability, and the ordinary rules of politeness, be not observed towards our competitors, we shall probably lose more than we gain in the business race. Proper observance of these points would frequently prevent men from so lowering their prices as to make their business one of nearly all work without sufficient legitimate profit. A jealous man invariably fails in tact, but an ambitious —using the word in its right sense--frequently, reaches the point aimed at. We require tact as well as a firm will in saying "No" to one asking credit or too extended credit; for by saying "Yes," the business man is so often crippled as to be unable to buy for cash himself, thus losing a legitimate trade discount. The experience of most business men who employ travellers or who may have travellers calling on them, will go to prove that tact is an important element in a representative. Having so many varied people to deal with, without tact to discern the peculiaritiesof each, the one man frequently fails to secure trade, whilst the tactful man runs in to win. Tact is the essence of true politeness, and the tactician is the man who does a disagreeable duty in the most pleasant manner, thus robbing it of "its sting. If a bore, if pedantic, or dogmatic, / thee! Thou canst never real tactician be!