Whether you’ve accidentally stepped on someone’s toe or have been forced to resign from public office — things are always better if you can stick the apology.
But a good apology isn’t easy. (Probably because most people aren’t really all that sorry.) Still, assuming you are, experts say there are a few key components that can make an apology land.
First, you must specifically express regret, then you need to accept responsibility, make restitution, genuinely repent, and finally request forgiveness.
Maybe actress Jenna Fischer was familiar with this formula, because this afternoon she released a great apology in an era of pretty “meh” apologies.
Last Saturday, Fischer shared her thoughts about the tax bill, but she made a mistake.
“I can’t stop thinking about how school teachers can no longer deduct the cost of their classroom supplies on their taxes … something they shouldn’t have to pay for with their own money in the first place. I mean, imagine if nurses had to go buy their own syringes,” she tweeted Saturday.
She didn’t realize that the final version of the bill signed into law actually left the deduction for teachers. Twitter users, including Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, one of the architects of the bill, were quick to highlight her mistake.
But this afternoon Fischer tweeted: “I made a mistake and I want to correct it. After reading your feedback and doing additional research, I discovered that I tweeted something that was not accurate.”
She added: “I feel genuinely bad for getting my facts wrong and I’m sorry. I did not mean to spread misinformation. I was well-intentioned, but I was behind on my research.”
Senator Hatch even thanked Fischer and tweeted: “Very gracious, a great example of how civil discussion can and should take place.”