I feel like talking about Stalin is like walking on eggshells... You don't want to go, "Stalin's death toll is overexaggerated, in my opinion he didn't kill enough people!!!" because that will make the average person instantly stop hearing you
What's the best way to talk about Stalin in a sensitive way that doesn't trigger a fight or flight response?
Like AES education in general, it’s good to put things in context. It also depends heavily on who are you talking to. Leftcoms / trots? Anarchists? Liberals? MLs? My approach would be different with everyone.
An approach that a few revisionist (in a good way) sovietologists use is talking about the class issues and struggles of early Soviet Russia. As well as the context of being isolated on the international stage. In this way you can show that the hardships of that time were caused by existing conditions, not materialized by one man. The problem that I’ve found with this approach is that often you end up giving a lecture on the history of Soviet Union.
If you would like more specifics let me know!