Don’t apologize by text for something you did to someone’s face.
GRATITUDE
WHAT THIS MEANS
Matching the apology to the injury is part of the apology. Do something standing in front of a person and a text lets you tidy it up without watching them hear it, which they can tell is what happened. The convenience is entirely yours, and that is the trouble with it. An apology that costs you nothing reads as paperwork.
An apology owed from in person has to happen in person, or by phone if distance makes that impossible. Say it first and briefly, before any explaining. A text afterwards to repeat it is fine; a text in place of it is not.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which apology have you sent by phone to avoid the room?
MORE IN COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE
- “What does that word mean?” costs you two seconds. Pretending you know it can cost you the whole conversation.
- When you’re the one who knows the language, be patient with the one who doesn’t. You’ll switch places someday.
- When the house is tense, talk to your little sibling about normal stuff. Normal is its own kind of comfort.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.