The friend who tells you there’s food in your teeth, or that your plan has a hole, is doing you a favor. Thank them.

Honesty about small embarrassments and about large mistakes comes from the same place. A friend who tells you the awkward thing has decided your knowing matters more than the comfortable silence, and they are accepting a slightly worse moment with you in order to say it. Most people take the silence. One person who will not is worth more than a wide circle who always agree.

Thank whoever does that for you, specifically, so that it stays safe for them to keep doing it. And when you can see the hole in somebody else’s plan, say so kindly and say it early.