How can I know when its okay to be brutally and completely honest and when I should be more "gentle" expressing my thoughts?

Be guided by the nature of the person you are speaking to. Some people prefer total honesty, but others would benefit more from careful handling.

This question can be difficult - most people would say that its something we have to sense! One way to approach this is to think about the end result: would the person you're talking to benefit more from stark honesty or a little more tact? It varies significantly based on person and circumstance but as a general rule, this has worked for me.

Tact and politeness are dictated by cultural norms and personal style. I personally would rather risk voicing an unpopular opinion and then apologize later for offending anyone...but that won't fly in the work place. It's good to know when to pick your battles. Sometimes being direct and incisive is the route of least suffering for everyone. Painful truths are better confronted than avoided. But ask yourself, do YOU need to be the one doing the confronting? And are you being brutally honest to save the person from additional suffering, or simply because you need to be right? Sometimes, it can be hard to know the difference. Thinking before speaking anything potentially hurtful is a good idea. It is also helpful to remember that some people are so in denial, they cannot be reached with words. Trying to confront, argue, and lecture people out of a strongly held belief (even one that seems ridiculous and false) is a losing battle. Whatever words you choose, you must be prepared to accept the other person where they're at, or leave them behind if you cannot.

just be as honest to yourself as you are to the other... we can say you would prefer someone to tell you that you dont look nice and it may be true, but not in a harsh way.. be honest but lay it gently to the person, like "you remember the dress you wore last week? i liked it better on you..." that way the person wont feel bad about their dressing but will know you dont approve of what they have on at the moment

I had the same problem myself, and sometimes still do in certain situations. Everyone is different and everyone reacts in different ways. Before you say anything, think about the situation and the person by standing in their shoes. Think, "What sort of opinions would I want to hear in this particular situation? The hard truth, or the more sugarcoated version. Neither of the choices are considered wrong, it just depends on the person you're saying it to.

Many times, it can take acute social skills that are attuned to what the other person is thinking or feeling. That, or really empathize with who you're talking to. Put yourself in their shoes and back, and make an objective decision about whether this person is hurting, and will ignore the truth and just see how much it hurts, or if they'll take it and do something with it, pain and all.

It is likely that if we build solid repertoire, have established empathy and then ask for permission, we can be more direct.

Take a step back and consider how the other person might feel. Truly engage them with empathy, asking, "How would -I- feel if confronted in such a way?" Being completely honest is always recommended, but when is it ever warranted to be "brutal" with somebody? No matter what, you should always engage others with honesty and kindness.

Honesty is important but being gentle and knowing when your honesty is being hurtful takes practice. Tread lightly and speak with kindness.

You should always be gentle and kind when expressing your thoughts. You should also feel free to be completely honest. We need honest feedback from each other, but it doesn't help if it is delivered in a harsh or cruel way. If you want to help, "speak the truth with love".

Well, first of all I'd like to say you should never be afraid to speak your mind. Your individual voice matters immensely. It also shows that you are naturally a sensitive, yet honest person since you even thought to ask this question. Perhaps, it is best to be gentle when a person is in a sensitive state already, but remember the truth hurts everyone but it also helps everyone. So even if there are times when you need to phrase is more subtly because of somebody's fragile emotional state, don't worry about how their emotions might be hurt too much because ultimately it will help them greatly .

I think you should alway be honest. But, you can be totally honest and gentle at the same time! Personnaly, I would prefer to someone who is brutally honest and tell me directly ''Nah I don't like what you do'' (for an exemple) than someone who say ''well it's not bad but it's not my kind of thing'' (when s/he actually think it's bad) I hope it helped you! :)

Its always based on your senses. If you sense that there is tension and it is not the right time then don't be brutally honest but when you sense that the person that you are talking to are more open and willing to receive fed backs then be brutally honest.

From my personal experience, i would rather the other person tell me the truth no matter how much it hurts me because it is better to be told the truth (it is easier to process most of the time and to work through) than to be lied to because then you are left wondering why you weren't good enough for the truth. I would follow the other persons lead, and you will know when the time is right on how to approach the topic.

It truly depends on the person you are speaking to and you usually can kind of guess how to handle the situation based on your knowledge about the person but if you are unsure try to think if the person can handle brutal honesty if the situation is better handled with tact etc.

In m opinion, you should never be sorry for how you feel. You should however be mindful with the way you express yourself if it has the ability to hurt somebody. You should never say something with the intent of being hurtful, for example, you could say something brutally honest that might not necessarily be what the other wants to hear, but if your intentions are good, I see nothing wrong with being brutally honest. I may be taken back when someone expresses themselves in that way, but if I know their intentions are good, I end up appreciating it in the long run.

When someone asks me to be honest with them then I should be brutally and completely honest with them. If there really sad or feel very flexiable then maybe I will me really gentle.

Well communication never hurt anyone. Asking can help to figure out what to do. also reading the situation and the person will help too

I feel like this depends on the person we are being honest too. If you know they are sensitive, then use more light wording and suggestions. Complete honesty is only for the most steel-hearted.

It's on the feel, if you feel like you trust that person to see your full brutal expression, then it's maybe because you feel like they are actually paying attention to what you're saying and thus you wouldn't mind adding more details. The truth is, it's also about you in the end, you dont want to trigger yourself either, so it's important to be gentle with yourself :)