Ask HN: How to understand subtext

Here on the Internet and where accomplishing a specific task is of paramount importance, being frank and straightforward is the normal conversation method.

However, in authoritarian environments (military, Enterprise, martial arts schools) where your 'face' is more important than what you directly accomplish, failing to prioritize the emotions of your superiors over communicating needed information can be damaging to both the organization and your career. In such environments, it pays to say something without directly saying it, communicating needed information via deniable subtext instead of outright stating facts.

I'm not saying it's better to be an honest jerk than a polite person with nothing useful to say, it's entirely possible to be honest without being a jerk. To date, that's my greatest strength as a developer, and I'm usually pretty good at explaining things to Management and Business without being condescending. That said, when people inevitably turn to subtext and indirect communication, they may as well be speaking French.

When patio11 released Stockfighter, I found the rules very difficult to understand. "If you're caught doing this, you lose. You have to do this to get through the level." Maybe I'm dumb, but that seems contradictory to me.

Long story short, I'm a pretty good direct communicator, and I'd like to learn how to be a better indirect communicator. Is there a way one can train how to understand and communicate with subtext rather than having to be direct?