I don’t think it’s about being less blunt but about learning to reframe the question to make it feel as though you are collaborating with the person on the outcome. For example, if I have a gut feeling that something may not be the best approach I’ll say something like “Have you considered [X]?” and then see what their reaction is, listening and learning what they have and haven’t considered is really useful way in because you can then add “When I worked on this previously, I learned [X]” or “I read some guidance that said you should do it like [X]…”

That will help the other person to learn what is important too, so you’re taking more of a coaching approach than a “computer says no” approach.

Similarly, I sometimes put myself in hypothetical shoes “If I was [this person] I think I would want to do [X], how would I do it?” because that tells you if they know who they’re building for and what those people need.

I’m not sure if this helps, but I think it comes with time and you will get there!