Good communication skills are critical to success. Unfortunately, society has become so soft and overly sensitive that people feel they need to be passive and tentative in the way they speak to others. They tone down the truth to avoid offending someone. They are vague in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings. Guess what? This doesn't work. In order to succeed personally and professionally, you need to speak clearly. You need to speak truthfully. You need to be direct.