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Raw flash should be considered as a bright pin point of light. You can liken it to the sun on a bright day, as that is also a very bright point source of light that gives harsh shadows. When partialy obscured by cloud it is not so bright and any shadows are far softer. Totally overcast gives no shadows as there is no longer a key light, and light on a subject is coming from all around.
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The key to a soft flash is diffusion. A way of making the point source bigger. Just as in the examples of sunlight the more diffuse the flash the softer the light. You will however loose a bit of the flash units power. If the unit is a TTL one exposure will be automatic and of no concern.
Diffusing a flash can be done in a number of ways. If it is a seperate flashgun then diffusing attatchments such as the one shown in the attatched picture can be used. These are very effective for their size which is why you will see them being used by the press. The flash can be bounced of a larger surface to increase the size of the light, or fired though a white material from a short distance to achieve the same. Unfortunatly on compact cameras the proximity of the flash to the lens limits options to a bit of tissue held over the flash tube ( fingers out of the way of the flash ).
As the options are so large I attatch a link to the Warehouse Express site where there is a large range on show. When the diectory on the left side loads go to Photographic - Flashguns - Lumiquest and Stofen.
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/index.cfm
Attatched picture shows Stofen type diffuser.