Should you lie? Lying is in my opinion quite useless. Say a friend asks you if they are interesting? If you choose to lie, Simply because you don't want to offend your friend. Then you're not a very good friend are you? I'm certain they didn't ask because they wanted you to lie to them. They wanted your honest opinion, Then maybe followed by some observations you've made in regards to their concerns. Not everyone might agree with me on this, However I believe the person asking will have a deep and honored respect for you because they know you care enough to be honest. So should you lie to people just to make them feel better?

there are three options for me

because someone asks doesnt mean I HAVE To answer, so no answer or a request to be left out of the situation are two options for me

the third option is honesty with compassion,, instead of saying,, 'yes that dress makes you look fat',, 'that dress doesnt flatter you', works just as well,,,,

I agree with msharmony. Telling the truth can be done with tact.

This is true, You don't really have to answer. Good point Ms. Harmony

No you should not lie, but in some cases the blunt truth is as equally uncalled for.

There is a difference between being honest and being a dick.

Tact is everything.

I would not tell my friend he sucks just because I, personally, don't find him interesting. He probably deserves friends that share more similar interests and personalities than me. I'm not a very good friend for him anyway...apparently I think he sucks!

My opinion is just my own interesting point of view. That doesn't make it right, wrong or true.

If someone asks me, I typically answer but always from a place of caring. If they are asking from a place of insecurity, I would generally point them in the direction of remembering the contribution they are.

Thank you all for your wonderful insights, I never had the intention of responding to my friend in a "dickhead" manner. However I do agree tact is very important.

One of the questions to consider is: is this a health or safety issue?
Is it a matter of opinion? If so why burden someone else with your personal opinion if it is negative, it is only negative for you at this moment. Do I have enough facts to even make a comment?

No one should burden anyone with an unwanted opinion. However if you go back and read the post correctly. It clearly reads that the other party asked for the opinion.

Should you lie:

I worked with a portrait artist once who always flattered his subject to the point that his final portrait didn't really resemble the old hag sitting in front of him.

He was very handsome himself. One day a 50 year old woman had a portrait done and it barely resembled her--- and the woman looked twenty years old in the picture.

At first she was very skeptical. She was paying $30.00 for this portrait in pastels.

She asked him, "Do I really look like that?"

He smiled at her and said "To me you do!"

She couldn't resist his charm.

LOL

Words are very powerful. It all depends on the way one tells someone the truth... People should take the time to think about how they put the words together to give the least impact.

I also should point out, It has been my experience. That many women's opinions seem to fluctuate with the emotions they feel at the moment in question. Iv'e also taken note that their emotions can change at the drop of a hat. Depending how they feel. Men operate completely differently, Men are logical thinkers by nature. Our decisions/opinions are mostly made by logical thinking. As opposed to how we feel with regards to certain exceptions. So your comment above as to how the opinion is only negative at the moment. Would be better applied to a womans way of thinking.

Now that guy knows how to manipulate! They both get what they want and leave feeling good about the exchange! I love it!

I do no one thing in regards to this post, If I was wearing a shirt, pair of pants, or hat. Which I thought looked good, But in reality it didn't. I'd definetly want my good friend to tell me "Hey man take that hat off you look like Gilligan" That honesty would be appreciated.

I agree

You are talking about girls not women, women know who they are and how they feel.

I'll give you an example, Say a woman is mad at someone, For the sake of argument lets say its a man. She is telling all her girlfriends what a jerk he is. All of a sudden he shows up with flowers and her favorite starbucks, Then all of a sudden she changes her story and tells everyone what a sweetheart he is.

Now on the same token a man rips off another man. Then the fiend in question returns the mans property to him and apologizes. The man may forgive him but.. He is still going to think he is an A-hole for ripping him off.

I rest my case