A word that I like:
tact. noun.
- a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.
- a keen sense of what is appropriate, tasteful, or aesthetically pleasing; taste; discrimination.
Or as the OED puts it:
‘Ready and delicate sense of what is fitting and proper in dealing with others, so as to avoid giving offence, or win good will; skill or judgement in dealing with men or negotiating difficult or delicate situations; the faculty of saying or doing the right thing at the right time.’
I recently read a short story in which rhetoric is described as the art of ruling; if so, then tact is the art of conversation.
