Dear Justin,
I recently did something hurtful to a family member. Shortly afterward, I said I was sorry but the person didn’t seem to accept my apology. I’ve tried to reach out but they are giving me a bit of a “cold shoulder.” They still seem bugged about what I did. I feel like I’ve done my part and now it’s up to them to accept the apology. Should I be looking at this differently?
Signed,
Apology Not Accepted
Dear Apology Not Accepted,
I can totally relate to this. For the past few years, I’ve been on a quest to better understand sincere apologies and make them a habit in my life. I’ll share what I’ve discovered. I hope this helps.
1. Make sure you’re not offering a lousy apology. Nearly everyone has made a poor apology at some time or another. It goes without saying that bad apologies do more harm than good. If you have a habit of using any of the following, or anything similar to them, stop.
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- I’m sorry you took it that way.
- I’m sorry, but it’s not my fault.
- I’m sorry for how things went.
- I feel bad, but it could have been much worse if . . .
- I didn’t intend to hurt you, but the situation . . .
- I said I was sorry. Why can’t you get over it?
2. Bad apologies come from inside. For many of us, we feel like the apology is a box that must be checked in order to get the offended or hurt party feeling better. But such motives for apology drive a poor delivery. We apologize because we don’t want the person to be cross with us any longer. I’ve fallen for this. Because I want people to like me and to have things “good” between myself and others, I’ll do whatever it takes to quickly get us back to “good.” But listen to my explanation—you can see that my motive is all about making ME feel good, about ME feeling accepted. Is your motive for the apology about you or about the other person? Is it about the whole relationship or just your half?
3. It’s not about saying “I’m sorry.” The truth is an apology is needed for moments when Mutual Respect has been violated in some form. Whether on purpose or accident, you’ve done something to make a friend, colleague, relative, or partner feel marginalized, hurt, or disrespected. From this realization, one theme has emerged that has helped me a lot:
“Apologizing is about more than saying “I’m sorry” or “my bad.” It’s about restoring respect when it’s been lost.”
What does that mean? Have you ever restored a house yourself or watched a house restoration on TV? Home restoration takes time and attention to detail. When you’ve hurt someone, they feel disrespected. You need to restore that respect, brick by brick. This sometimes means allowing time for the person to heal. Allow them time to see you’ve changed (not just in your words, but also in your actions). The late Stephen Covey said, “You can’t talk your way out of what you’ve behaved yourself into.”
4. It’s all in the eyes of the receiver. When I work with Crucial Conversations groups, I ask, “What makes a good apology?” Immediately and in unison, group members say, “Sincerity.” Then I ask, “Who decides if an apology is sincere?” The answers don’t come as quickly. Students hesitate and say, “The receiver of the apology, I guess.” People need to hear or see evidence that demonstrates you get it. They need to know that you understand how respect was violated. I’m not sure which of the following tips speak best to your situation, but here are some ideas:
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- Take responsibility—don’t blame the situation. Most of all, don’t blame the offended or hurt party (“I’m sorry you chose to be offended.”)
- Acknowledge, don’t minimize, the damage you may have caused.
- Be open to condemning your own behavior. Admit that you have violated your own moral/value code.
- Accept your punishment as justified; make a sacrifice that is as large or larger than the pain you caused. (The bandage needs to be as large or larger than the wound.)
- Commit to avoid the offense in the future. In fact, promise to avoid actions that come close to repeating the offense.
- Don’t expect or demand to be forgiven. Your goal is to demonstrate that you understand the offended person’s values and moral outrage, reject your bad behavior, and not repeat it.
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I hope you see the importance of apologizing more deliberately. In the end, your apology should show you’re doing it on purpose.
Good luck my friend,
Justin
I am impressed with your deep thinking about an apology. Going beyond the surface and selfish “I’m sorry” to define the principles of a sincere or authentic apology is helpful. Having made many mistakes with staff, clients and in personal relationships I’ve found that when I used the principles you outlined, the relationship healed. If my behavior changed over time, the relationship improved.
What a great description and set of guidelines for an apology. They seem so obvious. How often do you hear a public apology that meets these sincere apology guidelines. Especially from politicians.
Thanks for these words of wisdom and guidance. Now the hard part, implementing them.
Love the VitalSmarts emails!
I am reminded about a sermon series that I heard about the 10 myths of forgiveness. It is not directly related to an apology, but I think it is germane.
1. Forgiveness means the offender didn’t really hurt you.
2. Forgiving means you condone or excuse the offender’s hurtful act.
3. Before forgiving, you must first understand why the offender hurt you.
4. Before forgiving the offender, you must feel forgiving and no longer be angry.
5. Forgiving means the offender won’t hurt you again, and that you must reconcile and reunite.
6. Before you forgive, the offender must compensate you and restore your loss.
7. When the offender is punished, you will find healing and closure.
8. Forgiving means the offender will face no consequences.
9. Forgiving means the offender must acknowledge and confess the offense, apologize and seek forgiveness.
10. Some crimes are too horrible to forgive.
One of the best posts I’ve read here to date! I’m passing this along to all my family members! …and trying to take it to heart myself 🙂
Thanks for sharing these ideas about apology and there has actually been some interesting research done about the elements of an apology.
Professor Emeritus Roy Lewicki (lead author) and Associate Professor Robert Lount of Management and Human Resources at The Ohio State University and Assistant Professor of Management Beth Polin of Eastern Kentucky University conducted two separate experiments of how people reacted to apologies made up of different elements. The study of 755 people found the following six elements of an effective apology:
1. Expression of regret
2. Explanation of what went wrong
3. Acknowledgement of responsibility
4. Declaration of repentance
5. Offer of repair
6. Request for forgiveness
Apparently acknowledgment of responsibility is most important with offer of repair the next most significant. Take a look at their article (Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, Vol. 9, No. 2 May 2016)
Instead of saying “I’m sorry” try telling the other person “I was wrong” as a preface your apology. Those are powerful words that we don’t use often enough, and have a stronger impact than saying “sorry.”
You are right! I find that the harder emotionally it is for me to say the words, the more on track the meaning is. “I was wrong” is much harder for me to say than “I’m sorry”, and means so much more. (I don’t know why it is harder to say, they already know it, it is recent news just to me).
These are great apology rules to live by. May I add one more. There are no ‘buts’ in apologies. Using the word ‘but’ removes the sincerity of your apology and makes it sound like you are excusing/blaming what you said or did instead of truly acknowledging your offense.
That is a great rule, but…
whenever i think perfect apology i think randy pausch’s last lecture (the one on oprah, although the lengthier one at princeton(?) probably includes it):
– it was my fault;
– i’m sorry,
– what can i do to make things better?
i feel like they address everything above pretty succinctly, AND puts SOME onus back on the apologizee to stand by their values, i.e. not squeeze as much self-righteousness as they can out of another’s mistakes/misbehavior. the deepest hurt to be tended is when trust/respect is in limbo (when you suddenly “realize” this person is not actually part of my community), and in that sense overreacting can be just as damaging as the original offense.
Thank you! This is a great post. Since taking the Crucial Conversations course in 2005, I refer to the book and toolkit or come to this site in difficult times. I always find very practical and helpful information. This piece was timely and is an excellent resource. I also appreciate the ‘myths about apologies’ posted by another reader. Much appreciation!
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I think these are great apology guidelines in most any case. I wonder, however, if they might be different in the case of illness? For example, someone suddenly develops encephalitis or sustains a concussion, and the symptoms of brain inflammation/injury cause them to exhibit bizarre behavior that affects those around them. Maybe it ruins the day trip they were on, or worse, their wedding. (I do not think this applies in the case of taking drugs or alcohol, as those things are within a person’s locus of control). How would someone properly apologize for behavior that they had no control over?
As you probably know, I suffered a severe concussion just before your wedding. I made the decision to attend your wedding even though I knew I wasn’t feeling like myself, and my behaviour impacted your special day. In spite of the fact that my judgement was clearly impaired, I still regret my behaviour and I want to sincerely apologize for the disruption I caused at the reception. I’d like to pay you for the wedding cake that I destroyed, and the fee for cleaning up the mess I made during my episode, Please let me know the costs involved. If there is any further way that I can make amends for the incident that i caused, please tell me. I can tell you that I will take such situations more seriously in the future and will seek medical help much sooner if I ever experience a concussion again.
Thank you! I was thinking more like if he fell off the balcony and hit his head during the wedding, but this is helpful.
Thanks for touching on this subject. I had to make my 13 year old son look up how to apologize to his teacher and students for disrupting a class because he had so many excuses for deciding to play weird sound repeatedly from his phone while class was in session. This article would have come handy. I wish school teach these little human beings these human skills, would make the world a much better and sane place.
What do you do when the breach was your fault after built up resentment, you’ve apologized, but they won’t agree to talk about the underlying issues or hear your out? How to do salvage the relationship or at the very least, let go of the guilt and regret and move forward?
And when multiple apologies to multiple people generate no change it is time to walk away!
Another good book on this topic is Gary Chapman’s “5 Languages of Apology.” In a nutshell, they are:
Expressing regret.
Accepting responsibility.
Making restitution.
Genuinely repenting.
Requesting forgiveness.
Not everyone feels apologized to in the same way, but we tend to relate to one or two of these more than another. Thanks for the insight!
Thank you, Justin. Thinking of repairing respect rather than apologizing helps me to see it more clearly. As a child of the 70’s, my parents enforced mandatory / forced apologies when my siblings and I would fight. It never felt good or right and has skewed my view of apologies ever since. This is very helpful!
In my years of facilitating Restorative Justice, I have learned that apologies for the most egregious offenses can be accepted, but only after the offender demonstrates they truly understand the harm their actions caused. A good introduction to an apology can be something like, “I believe I caused you harm/inconvenience/hurt feelings when I did X. Do you want to tell me more about that?” When the offender listens and acknowledges the harm is when an apology will most likely be heard and accepted.
Justin, you absolutely nailed the concept of a “proper” and meaningful apology. The world could benefit from globally embracing your philosophy. Restoration is the driving purpose… restoration of respect and trust. Thank you!
Amazingly helpful and clear. In fact, never read it so succinctly and we’ll put. Thank you!
Loved this one, Justin!! As a “Crucial Learning” trainer for many years, I have had facilitated many interesting conversations on the power of a Sincere Apology but you really nailed it here! And the graphic of trying to fix a broken heart with sellotape was a great visual device!!
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My take on “I’m sorry” is that folks just overuse it, so the phrase falls flat when the phrase (and the onus) are truly needed. “I’m sorry your cat died”, “I’m sorry” (I bumped into you), “I’m sorry to hear that”….really listen to yourself as you move through your day and catch yourself as you say “I’m sorry” and try to rephrase to something more appropriate – “I am saddened by the loss of your pet”, “Ooops, I need to look where I am going!”, “That is unfortunate, what can I do to help?”.
In this manner, when you are TRULY SORRY for something, then the words may have more meaning.