Someone says, ‘They changed the plan because they don’t respect me.’ You may understand the disappointment without knowing whether that explanation is accurate. A reply does not have to accept or reject the entire statement at once.
You can acknowledge the experience: ‘I can see why being left out of the update was upsetting.’ That responds to the event and its impact without claiming to know another person’s motive.
If the person wants to think through what happened, separate the next question: ‘Do we know why the plan changed?’ The order can help keep the conversation from becoming an argument about whether the person is allowed to feel disappointed.
Avoid saying ‘You’re right’ automatically when the message contains an unverified accusation. Avoid dismissing the experience with ‘You’re overreacting’ when you have not understood it either.
A more useful response leaves room for both care and accuracy. You can take someone seriously while remaining uncertain about part of the story.
Try identifying the event, the feeling the person has named and the explanation they are proposing. Respond to each at its own level of certainty. This makes support more precise and reduces the chance of reinforcing a conclusion neither of you has enough information to establish.