In mentor–teacher conversations, mentors routinely start off the work of advising that involves indicating problems and suggesting solutions, both of which can present negative ascriptions to the teacher's ability, and by extension, meet diverse forms of less-than-aligning replies. Based on 50 video-recorded post-observation meetings, this conversation analytic study details one particular resource, -going general-, mobilized by the mentors to deal with the tricky work of critiques and suggestions without discrediting the mentoring task. Through depersonalization and principle invocation, going general can efficiently foster teacher alignment, and as such, ease professional socialization.