Sorry, maybe we are miscommunicating; I don’t think the act of softening your speech itself is sneering. Rather, I think you can appear to speak fairly politely and still be sneering. Subtle sneering, which is common on sites like LessWrong where unsubtle sneering is taboo.
As for inserting qualifiers: he who excuses himself accuses himself.
Sorry, maybe we are miscommunicating; I don’t think the act of softening your speech itself is sneering. Rather, I think you can appear to speak fairly politely and still be sneering. Subtle sneering, which is common on sites like LessWrong where unsubtle sneering is taboo.
As for inserting qualifiers: he who excuses himself accuses himself.