The Lost Art of the Apology - Vol 1

There are few things as engaging and disarming as a swift, heartfelt apology.

Technorati employee Niall Kennedy found himself inadvertantly drawing criticism about his company the other day for something he posted.  His response was quick, clear, unequivocal and sincere.

Which brings me to my four qualities of a real apology (as opposed to a forced apology, a legal apology, a sneering apology, or an anti-apology).

Four Qualities of a Real Apology

1) Sincere - using words like "I", "mistake" and "sorry".

2) Quick - without the lengthy delay that often sets in when a committee or a lawyer is involved

3) Clear - simple language, well organized, free of jargon and information overkill

4) Unequivocal - avoids blaming someone else for what happened

Interestingly, these qualities are pretty close to what the courts have determined constitutes a real apology that mitigates the damage caused by the initial offense, whatever it was.

I could add a fifth quality - concise - to the list, but that may be asking too much of some people. ;-)

Thanks to Silicon Beat for the link.