It was a feis weekend so am going to fire off a short note here.  A good way to soften harsh on camera flash it to diffuse it.  That spreads the light around a bit more and redirects off the center of your subject for more even lighting. 

Gary Fong is the king of flash diffusion.  He sells diffusers for speedlight flash units used on Canon and Nikon dslrs. If you have a speedlight, however, you probably aren't reading these tips. <g> So I will direct you instead to his pop up flash diffuser.  (There are some cheaper ones here but I am not familiar with their products or warranty.) This video shows you how it works with your camera.   

You can rig up a diffuser on your own with an old white/clear film canister if you still have access to those. Directions here.  Here is how to do it with tissue paper. This one is made from a cigarette carton and this one from a plastic flask. Not encouraging either of those purchases.  Just sayin. <g>

Let's say you have a purse sized point and shoot however.  You can try holding or taping tissue paper over the little square flash opening.  You can hold a plastic cup over.  If you feel like taping TP to your camera front is a little cheesier than you'd like when you are sight seeing or hosting a party, never fear. Gary has an inexpensive solution for point and shooters too right here.  DIY hack for that here. 

Play around with your flash and let me know what works for you!