The Art & Science Of Making A Public Apology

Making a public apology in the wake of a crisis is as much art as it is science. But crafting and executing a public apology is crucial in moving past a crisis and minimizing the damage to your reputation. 

In the wake of the Houston Astros cheating controversy – Breaking Down the Astros’ Latest Public Relations Meltdown – all eyes are on Astros’ owner Jim Crane, along with a few key Astros’ stars, and their responses to the scandal. 

The apologies and public responses have been varied and range from sincere, regretful and heartfelt statements to attempts to minimize the impact the cheating had on the outcome of the games. 

The Astros have not done themselves any favors in trying to regain the trust of fans and move past the scandal. 

Since successful apologies can make or break your brand, we’re breaking down the elements of a successful public apology. 

Successful Apologies

How and where you roll out your apology should be part of your strategic communications plan, but all apologies have the same 4 basic elements: 

1. Acknowledge The Mistake: this is a big one, and something many people forget to do. It’s easy to go straight to issuing an apology and bypass the part where you admit that a mistake was made. In order to start the process of regaining trust, it’s crucial your audiences know that you recognize a mistake was made. 
   
2. Take Responsibility: taking the high road can be a difficult path, but not taking the high road can, and will, cost you in the long run. Whether it was directly your fault, the fault of an employee, or some crazy circumstance that resulted in a crisis, it’s now YOUR crisis and you need to take responsibility. Your audiences are the judge and jury, and if they don’t feel that you’ve taken responsibility, you’ll never regain their trust and your brand reputation will suffer.
   
3. Issue a Sincere Apology: the key word here is “sincere” but it needs to be an apology. We’ve all been the recipient of an apology that isn’t quite an apology. That “I’m sorry you feel that way” approach won’t get you very far with the group you depend on for the success of your business. Put yourself in your audiences’ shoes, and issue a sincere and empathetic apology that resonates with your audiences.  
   
4. Explain Corrective Next Steps: Now that you’ve acknowledged a mistake was made, taken responsibility, and issued your apology, you need to explain how you’re going to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Show that you have a plan to correct the scenario that led to the mistake, and if possible, provide specific, concrete steps that will be taken. It’s even better if you can provide a timeline on when the steps will be put into place. 

Now that you have the critical elements of a public apology, it’s time to get into some of the “art” behind doing it successfully.  

The Art Of Apologizing

Understanding that every situation is different, and calls for an experienced professional and specific approaches, here are 5 pro tips to keep in mind as you’re crafting your apologies: 

1. Don’t equivocate: don’t try to explain yourself, give excuses for why it happened, or make it seem like it’s not as bad as they think it is. The simple fact is that a crisis happened and in the eyes of your stakeholders you are now the one responsible for making it better. 
   
2. Maintain consistency: In the middle of a crisis it’s always a good idea to have one spokesperson who can deliver your message. But whether you have one spokesperson, or multiple people speaking on behalf of your company, you need to be consistent every time you speak about the issue. If you break that consistency, or worse contradict yourself, you lose credibility and trust leading to more damage to your reputation and your organization.  
   
3. Be humble, sincere, and empathetic: remember this isn’t about you, it’s about your audiences and the impact it’s had on their lives. Be empathetic and put yourself in their shoes. Every time you speak or address the issue at hand, be sincere and remember that they are looking to you to make things better, or at a minimum, understand how they feel and why it’s a big deal. 
   
4. Communicate clearly and with purpose: you’re under the microscope every time you address the issue, whether it’s in front of a gaggle of media or at a team meeting. Understand your audiences and don’t use jargon or complicated language. Communicate WITH them, instead of talking AT them so you can make a connection. Every word matters so make them count.
   
5. Follow through: the crisis doesn’t end when you make your public apology, no matter how great the apology is. Your stakeholders will remember what you committed to, so be proactive and follow through. 

Before You Go

We all hope we never find ourselves in the middle of a crisis and needing to issue a public apology, but the chances are you will be there at some point. So, good luck and remember these tips to do it successfully. 

Check out some of these recent blogs: 

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– How to Create Content That Engages Audiences and Builds Brand Trust Quickly
– 7 Tips to Measure Your Strategic Communications Campaigns

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