Describe a situation where the truth is awkward: a friend's drawing they do not like, a game they no longer want to play, a present they already own.
Ask for the blunt version first — what would be true but unkind? Say it out loud together; naming it takes the charge out of it.
Then work out a version that is still honest but lands differently. Compare the two and ask what changed.
Children are often taught to be honest and to be kind as if the two never collide, so the first real collision leaves them choosing between lying and wounding. Rehearsing both versions shows that the same truth has many deliveries.