Behind your back vs. to your face

If someone talks about you behind your back, it means that they are saying things (usually not positive ones) to other people.

The opposite of this is to say something to your face, meaning directly to you.

In general, it's considered a bad practice to talk about a person behind his or her back, but it happens all the time, doesn't it? Of course, occasionally the comments are positive!

It seems much better to say everything to a person's face, but I suppose that we all feel uncomfortable sometimes, in terms of telling people what we really think. Maybe the best option is, if you can't say something to someone's face, maybe you shouldn't talk behind his or her back either!