“That makes sense” doesn’t mean you agree. It means you heard. Sometimes that’s all someone needs.

There is a step between listening and agreeing, and most people leap over it because they fear that acknowledging a feeling commits them to the conclusion. It does not. You can tell somebody their reaction is understandable given what they knew and still think they have the facts wrong. Plenty of fights run on only because nobody has said the first part yet.

Say the understandable part first when somebody is upset with you, and mean it. Let a few seconds pass. You will often find the argument you braced for does not arrive.