> You can grill someone without bringing them to tears Perhaps the reviewers in the OPs story could improve their tone a bit, but I really don't think this ass

> You can grill someone without bringing them to tears Perhaps the reviewers in the OPs story could improve their tone a bit, but I really don't think this assertion is true at all. Fear of failure, fear of having your failures exposed, and fear of confrontation are all incredibly commonplace. A thorough review is always going to expose "failures" on some level, even if they were necessitated by project constraints. People who struggle with those fears will always find that kind of process incredibly difficult, regardless of the demeanour of the reviewers. I would even suggest that overcoming those fears and anxieties is a rather fundamental part of the human condition in general.