How to apologise at work without over-explaining

A good apology at work is short. The urge is to explain, defend and reassure, and each of those makes it longer and makes it about you. Keep it to what the other person needs to hear.

What a short apology contains

Three parts, usually in two or three sentences:

• What happened, stated plainly: "I missed the deadline on the Henderson summary."
• Your part in it, without excuses: "I should have flagged on Monday that I was behind."
• What happens next: "You will have it by noon, and I will check in on Wednesday from now on."

What to leave out

Leave out "but". Whatever comes after it cancels the apology. Leave out the long background too, unless the other person asks for it, because a list of reasons sounds like a request to be excused. And leave out asking them to tell you it is fine. That hands them a job on top of the problem you caused.

A script you can adapt

"I got the figures wrong in the report I sent you this morning. I should have checked them against the source. A corrected version is attached, and I have added that check to my process."

Timing and what comes after

Apologise soon, once you have the facts straight. Then do the thing you said you would do, because the follow-through is the part people remember. If it was a small slip, one clear sentence is enough and the rest can go back to work.

Practise before the hard one

It is easier to apologise well for small things first. UNPUZZLE HUMAN covers repair in more depth, and the free Boundary Scripts worksheet gives you a feel for saying something direct in a sentence or two.