My last two posts have been about relationships, and this is my last post in the series I did for MindBodyGreen. If you’ve been following the my last few articles, you now know how to communicate effectively and have some relationship resolutions that can improve the quality of your interactions.
Still, we all make mistakes. We might do something we shouldn’t have or, perhaps we accidentally develop foot-in-mouth disease and wish we could take back our words. So, how do you own up for your wrongdoings and get your relationship back on track? How do you say you’re sorry so that the other person knows how much you mean it? Apologizing can feel uncomfortable, but it is necessary to maintain our relationships. This post will help you out by giving you some tips that can make your apologies run more smoothly. And, while I wrote it with personal relationships in mind, all of the information applies to business relationships as well.
Now you’ve done it. Despite your best intentions, you dropped the ball in some way. You feel remiss, and want to apologize for the action or inaction you’ve taken (or not taken) to disappoint.
Maybe you were too optimistic about what you could accomplish, and you missed an important deadline. Or, you blurted out something hurtful to a loved one. Or maybe you betrayed a close friend.
So how do you best own up to your mistake and make sure the other person knows how sorry you are? How do you apologize with strength, with integrity, while also showing vulnerability and compassion?
Take a deep breath and get ready. Here are some tried and true tips to make amends …