Two of the best pieces of advice I ever got were to be absolutely confident in yourself before coming out, and more importantly, to make sure to tell your parents individually (but don't wait too long between parents, or you might get outed from one to the other). The reason for this is that when you come out, people tend to be unsure how to react- if there is another person besides you in the room, they're more likely to react negatively off each others perceived reaction; If it's only you, then your calm and confident demeanor will help put them at ease. Totally worked for me. Not once did I have a bad coming out process (at least not initially... people can still turn into dill holes after getting shitty advice from religious types after the fact).
@6: I prefer to give any important news while I'm driving. That way if they freak out, they realize I'm the one behind the wheel and they won't do anything to the driver (for the most part, anyways).
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/gay-…
I keep wanting to say that in some pan-European accent.
"KREEST-oh-pair"