We are all humans and we are prone to making mistakes sometimes. Apologies are important after hurting your partner but sometimes our partner just doesn’t buy it.
Well, according to a study of published in the journal Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, there’s an effective way to apologize.
According to the Ohio State University study, an effective apology has six key elements.
Below are the six key elements of an apology
1. An expression of regret
2. An explanation of what went wrong
3. An acknowledgement of responsibility
4. A declaration of repentance
5. An offer of repair
6. A request for forgiveness
“Apologies really do work, but you should make sure you hit as many of the six key elements as possible,” Roy Lewicki, the lead author of the study and a professor emeritus of management and human resources at The Ohio State University said in a press release.
The researchers also found that several of the key elements carried more weight than others.
“Our findings show that the most important component (of an apology) is an acknowledgment of responsibility,” Lewicki said. “Say it is your fault, that you made a mistake”
So now we know the most important, what’s the second most effective element when apologizing? According to the study, the offer to repair the wrong what was done is the second most effective component. When you offer to repair the wrong done, you assure the person you are apologizing to that you’re committing to take action to undo the damage.
To get these results, the researchers conducted two separate experiments with a total of 755 people.
Phil