Let’s say a close friend asks your opinion about an expensive dress she has just bought. You think the new outfit is stunning…on someone else. But the color doesn’t suit your friend so well. It’s not bad, mind you, but just that she could have done a little better.
Or maybe she wants to know whether [...]

Try an experiment. Start a conversation on any topic with your spouse or best friend. After you’ve been talking together for a few minutes, interject with something along the lines of: “Hey, what are you talking about? You’re a real idiot!”
Next, hasten to explain to your partner that of course, you didn’t  mean what you [...]