Here is another excerpt from my latest book, Simple Realities (The pathway to happiness and success), which is now available at Amazon.com and on Kindle.
As the guest speaker droned on interminably, the bored head-table guest turned to the lady seated beside him and whispered, “I can’t stand that man.” She said, “That’s my husband!” The bored head-table guest never missed a beat as he smoothly intoned, “That’s why I hate him.”
If you save face for others your face will look better, too.
More enemies are made by what we say than friends by what we do.
A great test of diplomacy is to know how to do something and, without comment, watch somebody else doing it wrongly.
It’s nice to be wiser than people; but we shouldn’t let them know it.
People, like bullets, go farthest when they are smoothest.
If you understand why prickly pears are prickly, you can allow for it.
It’s possible to be honest and direct without being hurtful; but it requires thought.
You better be nice to people on your way up because you’re going to see them again on your way down.
Sticks and stones may break bones, and words may break a heart.
Knowledge knows what to do; tact knows when to do it.
Talent is something, but tact is everything.
Tact can build a fire under people without making their blood boil.
Anything that can be untied shouldn’t be cut.
Patting people on the back is the best way to knock chips off their shoulders.
Deceit isn’t a synonym for tact.
A true diplomat can have the same ailment another person is describing and not mention it.
The trouble with what comes straight from the heart is that it sometimes bypasses the brain.
Being right isn’t always what’s most important.
Failing is a great test of diplomacy and tact.