Verbal feedback from senior surgeons represents an essential part of surgical training. As an organizational psychologist who has spent time observing and measuring communication in the operating room (OR), I have observed a great deal of feedback from surgeons to surgical residents, students or more junior team members; most were constructive and expressed respectfully. However, in some cases, I observed feedback that seemed unsupportive and challenging to interpret, such as: “No, no, you should do this like this and not like this [showing how to handle an instrument], as I already told you twice. You are still working like an intern.”