I’m Sincerely Sorry

We all make mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes offend or affect others. The best thing to do when you realize you’ve done something wrong is to apologize and move forward. Here are the five most common threads to an effective apology, according to John Kador, author of the book Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges and Restoring Trust:

1. Recognition. Own up to your mistake. Admit you did something wrong and that you understand why you upset or offended someone in the process.

2. Responsibility. Don’t make excuses, just admit you made the mistake.

3. Remorse. Be sincere and express your apology personally by saying “I apologize” or “I’m sorry.”

4. Restitution. Do whatever you can to correct your mistake and rebuild the relationship to the state it was in prior to the incident.

5. Repetition. Prove you are sincere about not repeating the mistake in the future. Be direct with a phrase such as “I promise this won’t happen again.” Commit to not allowing the mistake to be repeated.