Instead of saying "I don't want you to take this the wrong way," try "you're probably going to take this the wrong way." The second version triggers people's urge to prove you wrong, making them more receptive to what you're about to say.
I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but whenever you say that, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it is guaranteed they're going to take it the wrong way. But just has a way of deleting everything you said before. Like, I love you, but I can't do this. Like, it just erases everything. What I want you to do is flip that to saying, you're probably going to take this the wrong way, and they won't. I promise you it works because it takes advantage of that natural reaction that we have to want to correct people and want to prove them wrong. When somebody says you can't do that, what's the first thing you think of when somebody says you can't. Oh yes, I can. Just wait. Just watch. You will change your whole life trajectory if somebody says you can't do something just to prove them wrong.
