The Oxford comma, trap
It’s easy to accept the limits that are implied when someone asks us for advice and feedback.
Fix the typos, sure. That’s important. But perhaps you have something bigger to add.
A friend shares plans to launch a new retail website. It’s tempting to fix the small errors on the page, but perhaps it’s more useful to discuss the product line, the pricing or whether or not it should be online at all…
The author shares a draft of a new work. You could help with the grammar, but maybe it would help more if you talked about the parts that weren’t included.
The agency shows three versions of a new design they’re considering. Multiple choice might be on offer, but ‘none of the above’ might be a more generous answer.
I’m pretty confident that when the Titanic went down, the deck chairs were clean and well-ordered. It’s a shame no one talked about the icebergs.