Empathy in Code Reviews

The way you write is everything. Don’t correct people — ask them for clarification. Assume they know something that you don’t. This is a really important thing! Assume that your co-workers are smart and are doing a good job.

Written communication can be tricky — it’s missing a lot of the social clues that let people know what you’re thinking. It’s easy to put people on the defensive, so take the time to try to use empathy words. — “us”, “our”, “we” are much better than “you”, “your”, and “mine”. You’re all on the same team, after all.

Source: How About Code Reviews? – Several People Are Coding