VIR-I-0010
“I don't know how to apologize without making excuses.”
A real apology has one job: to acknowledge clearly what you did and its impact. Explanations come after, if they're invited. Most failed apologies include too much self-defense and not enough plain admission. Strip it back to what's true.
Your Practice
Write your apology in two sentences: what you did, and that you're sorry for it. No "but," no "if you felt," no context unless they ask. Read it back and cut anything that shifts the focus away from the other person. Then say it.
The Architects
“The most beautiful thing in the world is freedom of speech.”
Diogenes, Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers VI.69 (Hicks translation)