Making an effective apology:Take responsibility. Apologies start with being willing to change your behavior. Recognize your actions caused a problem for the other person. Explain—if it is appropriate. Perhaps you had a bad day and took it out on someone. You may choose to disclose as part of your apology, but be careful not to justify your behavior. This negates the apology.   Show regret. The other person needs to see that you are aware that what you did was wrong. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Repair damage—or at least try. “What can I do to make this up to you?”Consider timing. Apologize as soon as possible to avoid lasting hurt feelings and begin repairing the relationship; however, it is also important to consider the best time for the person who has been offended. A crowded room or when that person is tired and wants to “just get it over with” wouldn’t be as thoughtful as waiting for the right time. Choose the best channel. Face-to-face apologies can be very effective because the message is clear and you can receive information. Letters, emails, voicemails, or texts may be easier for the apologizer, but it usually is not as emotionally effective because the communication is one-sided initially. However, every situation is different and the best apology depends on the person, the time, and the needs of the individual as well as the culture from which each comes.

Sorry that the site is slow/unstable right now! I'm working on fixing it! -Michael

I'll tell you my intention right away, because the language difference between us may offend you. For those things I don't understand, I apologize in advance (if you don't need my apology and feel that my apology is offensive to you, I firmly withdraw my apology).

Sorry if I sounded rude. I am using Gnome on a daily basis and am highly appreciating all the work anyone has put into it. I was just surprised when I found an AskUbuntu post from 2010 linking to this bug.

Apologies: it's hyperbole. The parent site has a bunch of "spend x to get one of y Steam games" deals, which is what I was referring to. it was not meant literally. Just an attempt to build common ground with the poster who was talking about gambling and fomo.I thought they were referencing the larger site, so I wanted to acknowledge that so I didn't come off as dismissive of their concerns.Which turned out to be entirely separate concerns! Obviating the reason for the comment in the first place.Anyway, sorry for the short novel. But that's the danger of pithy one-liners: assumed context for the poster can be entirely lost in translation.Thanks for coming to my public apology press release?

People fail the acknowledgment phase of the apology when they make vague and incomplete apologies (“for whatever I did”); use the passive voice (“mistakes were made”); make the apology conditional (“if mistakes have been made”); question whether the victim was damaged or minimize the offense (“to the degree you were hurt” or “only a few enlisted soldiers were guilty at Abu Ghraib”); use the empathic “sorry” instead of acknowledging responsibility; apologize to the wrong party; or apologize for the wrong offense.

Within the above structure of apology, an effective apology can generate forgiveness and reconciliation if it satisfies one or more of seven psychological needs in the offended party. The first and most common healing factor is the restoration of dignity, which is critical when the offense itself is an insult or a humiliation. Another healing factor is the affirmation that both parties have shared values and agree that the harm committed was wrong. Such apologies often follow racial or gender slurs because they help establish what kind of behavior is beyond the pale. A third healing factor is validation that the victim was not responsible for the offense. This is often necessary in rape and child abuse cases when the victim irrationally carries some of the blame. A fourth healing factor is the assurance that the offended party is safe from a repeat offense; such an assurance can come when an offender apologizes for threatening or committing physical or psychological harm to a victim. Reparative justice, the fifth healing factor, occurs when the offended sees the offending party suffer through some type of punishment. A sixth healing factor is reparation, when the victim receives some form of compensation for his or her pain. Finally, the seventh healing factor is a dialogue that allows the offended parties to express their feelings toward the offenders and even grieve over their losses. Examples of such exchanges occurred, with apologies offered, during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa.

there are up to four parts to the structure of an effective apology. (Not every apology requires all four parts.) These are: acknowledgment of the offense; explanation; expressions of remorse, shame, and humility; and reparation.

Forgiveness is often portrayed as a generous gift bestowed on us by someone we offended or as a gift we unconditionally extend to someone who offended us, regardless of an apology. Yet my own analysis has convinced me that forgiveness and apology are inextricably linked.

"I would also say, and here I wish to be quite clear, as was St. John Paul II: I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America," he said to applause from the crowd.