There are times when you think that telling the truth might be worse then keeping silent or telling a lie. A recent article titled "Older people's most common regrets" stated that one thing that many older people regret is not sharing how they really feel. This led to feelings of bitterness and resentment.
Sometimes you may not want to share your truth because it can cause more problems than what it's worth. How do you decide if you should or not? It depends on how much keeping your feelings to yourself bothers you. If you can't let it go and you ruminate on the situation then share. If you don't tell your truth then you can harbor bad feelings against that person or about yourself for not speaking up.
You can try to minimize hurting feelings, but you can't completely prevent it. The best thing to do is watch the other person's body language and see if you can gage when the convo is bothering them. Look for negative body language such as disengaging and disconnecting behaviors.
If you notice negative body language, reflect on what you just said and how you said it. You can empathize with them and say something like you don't mean to hurt their feelings. It's important to you to share because ... and list your reasons.
Share your thoughts on my Facebook page: Blanca Cobb-Body Language Expert. Write a message on my timeline and I'll get back to you.