Better yet, say, "I have some positive things and some things I'd like you to work on. Which would you like to hear first?"

In both cases, make them really specific and grounded in fact. "You always ..." is worthless in feedback terms: "I really appreciated it yesterday when you did this specific thing, because ..." is valuable to know.

Some people - particularly neurodivergent people - are unusually sensitive to criticism and are, themselves, highly self-critical. Offering the choice of rose-thorn order can really help put them at ease and therefore more receptive to hearing it.

Being very precise and grounded in fact with the praise, too, makes it harder to say, "Oh, he's just saying that," and treating the roses as a conversation filler to buffer the impact of the thorns. It's really important to celebrate wins, so make those victories impossible to ignore.