Back in 1973, the Royal Bank of Canada published a collection of some of its monthly letters in a little book called The Family: Cradle of Culture, Strength of the Nation, Stronghold of Civilization. It included some interesting tips, such as these from the chapter "Diplomacy in the Home":

"The greatest art known to man is that of living together harmoniously and helpfully" (pages 36-37).

"Family relations are essentially the result of a complicated interplay of understanding, non-understanding and misunderstanding. Not to understand, and not to be understood, are disturbing and perplexing experiences. Yet the remedy is simple: the spirit of understanding is developed by wishing to understand, and this is a principle that is basic to diplomacy" (pages 38-39).

"Mutual respect [is] the mainstay of successful diplomacy" (page 40).

"Diplomacy is greatly aided by empathy. This is the capacity to enter into and share the feelings, attitudes, interests and experiences of others" (page 42).

"In any diplomatic situation, striving to get in 'the last word' is the most disruptive and dangerous of infernal machines.

"Many of the things that disturb family life are the product of original mistakes compounded by bad manners...

"If love is the foundation of happy marriage, good manners are the walls and diplomacy is the roof...

"Manners for two are fixed by the same rules as are manners for the million, based upon the Golden Rule. They spring from kindness, courtesy and consideration, with a dash of savoir faire—the faculty of knowing just what to do and how to do it" (page 44).

"As a minimum, diplomacy in the family asks everyone to be considerate and decent, gracefully remembering the rights of others. At its best, diplomacy is unruffled good breeding, taking care and trouble to see that others are not neglected. It does not take anyone for granted..."

Tact "even means the difficult exercise of being generous and gracious while being honest and unyielding—what Ralph Waldo Emerson called 'good-natured inflexibility'" (page 45).

"The factors [of diplomacy] are: negotiation, conciliation, concession and compromise, and using these effectively is called 'The Art of the Possible.' It is directed toward finding the balance among conflicting desires which will give the greatest all-around satisfaction.

"Sometimes the initial efforts fail and different ways have to be tried. Diplomats do not try to saw sawdust. They get on to a new piece of wood" (page 46).

"Diplomacy requires us to educate our hearts. It means not only keeping the home fire burning but throwing a pinch of incense on it once in a while" (page 47).