I've noticed a little opportunity for playfulness that I like when people around me make minor mistakes and seem to expect to be yelled at. I think it is especially helpful when you want to show a guy that you are not going to criticize him, whether you are working on killing the shrew or showing a guy you've recently met that you aren't one, but I use it with my friends too.

The situation goes something like: he drops something, or almost does, and does that guilty check to see if you saw that (not all guys do this all the time, I think it's the ones who expect to be criticized). Instead of being exasperated, eye rolling, making a sarcastic remark, etc., the idea is to have a more light hearted response. I tend to do a kind of shrug/laugh kind of like the last clip in this music video. The feeling I am trying to convey is a playfully conspiratorial "shhh, the adults didn't see!"

This seems like a little thing, but the underlying concept is that you're changing the situation from "you vs. him to "us;" you're on his side.