Truth is the pill. Tone decides whether anyone swallows it or spits it back.

Being right about something is only half of saying it. How it arrives decides whether the other person can take it in or spends the whole time defending themselves, and defensiveness makes accurate information useless. None of this is about softening what is true. It is about not attaching the truth to something that makes it impossible to hold.

Before the next hard conversation, spend a minute on how you would want to hear it if the positions were swapped. Say the thing once, plainly, without the extra line that proves you were right. Then stop and let them have a turn.