Tact

[intuition85]

Well tact as defined by Webster is an acute sensitivity to what is proper and appropriate in dealing with others; including the ability to speak or act without offending. Ok... I thought this was a good thing to have or even employ. By a show of posts, who has had to deal with conflict in the workplace? I had an encounter yesterday that drove me to write, after I drank (just kidding). I was simply trying to put the cusomer first that's all. However the young lady I'll call my coworker was too busy flexing her 4 month seniority over me that a sale and customer service was almost lost. After the lobby was empty I struck up a conversation not an argument as to how the situation could have been handled. Before I could express my concerns I was interuppted and told how I was wrong and how I don't know this and that. I was simply trying to offer clarification and insight into how to work together more efficiently. I told her she might want to learn some tact when dealing in a professional atmosphere. "Thats not something you say to people," she exploded...

Wow.

[mirandam4]

Ha...I've dealt with s**t like this before! We have a lot of conflict in my workplace, and now that I think about it, it's because so many people don't know how to be tactful. So many times, things have been blown out of proportion or headed in a completely wrong direction because somebody said the wrong thing, or made the wrong gesture, or gabbed to the wrong person. It's amazing how many people don't even know what tact is, let along how handle it. Good post intuition85! I sense some good arguments (civil ones of course!) coming in this thread!

[zaycitozheludi]

Ethics of professional communication- I do remember it was a mane subject of my management school. I guess it is uncommon, so tact has to be something that you have to be born with.

[mirandam4]

Pretty sad that tact can't be taught. It should be taught, and it is in some instances, but so many people just do not carry tact with them.