The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines tact as "adroitness in dealing with persons and circumstances".
"Ok" says I as I leaf back a few pages. Adroit I notice is defined as "having address; dexterous".
Good grief I gasp. What the hell do they mean by dextrous? "neat handed. deft." sayeth the dictionary.
Deft? Yes, this word is conveniently defined as "handling things neatly".
Finally, the right answer. Tact = deft.
I'm pretty sure there isn't a course offered at the Toronto Real Estate Board called "Tact - 101". This can't be taught. It's intuitive. It just is. Either you develop it or you don't. Is it genetic? Is it tied to the intelligence factor? I don't really know. I'm not smart enough to know the right answer.
I do know it is a vital piece of the puzzle needed when tippy- toeing through the maze of a real estate transaction. I've seen many a transaction (or soon to be transaction) blow up unnecessarily because an agent says or does the dumbest thing. Maybe another definition for tact should be "knowing when to keep you damn mouth shut".
Some agents (and some entertainers) have it in their head that if they should stop talking, the world will turn against them. Little do they know the exact opposite is true.