Few things are truly obvious, so this is a good question. There are a lot of good answers here, but I feel compelled to add one more. Kindness... opens doors.

Few things are truly obvious, so this is a good question. There are a lot of good answers here, but I feel compelled to add one more. Kindness... opens doors. By being kind, your feedback is much more likely to actually benefit the person on the receiving end of it, which is the point of giving feedback in the first place. Kindness also reminds us to look at not just the things that we don't like, but also at the good, and to give credit wherever and whenever it is due. Here, for example, I could just have replied with an answer or a link to an article. That wouldn't have been unkind, per se. But you did ask a good question! Other people that read my reply may have wondered the same thing, and so by raising this, you helped all of those other people. Moreover, in looking back on things, I struggle to think of a time in my life when being unkind was a net benefit to me. Doing things that don't help me... doesn't sound like a solid strategy for winning. :) So, in general, I make it a point to Always Be Kind, and encourage others to do the same.