Kate Gosselin has worked her way through a number of interviews during her current media tour. To date, she has been quite a successful contestant on Dancing With the Stars. What interests me is this: During an interview on The Today Show (NBC), she said that she has “learned that in the heat of the moment I have a sharp tongue, and looking back there are probably a lot of people that I love that I probably spoke to inappropriately… Those are the people that are beside you to support you and love you… “I’ve really learned to watch what I say.”
My analysis: I commend Kate for this admission of (probable) fault (our 2nd language of apology) and her statement that she has learned to watch what she says (our 4th language of apology). All apologies are stronger if the speaker omits the word “probably”. This goes in the same category as “if I did something wrong” and “to the extent that I offended others.” These phrases belong in the trash can.
Jennifer Thomas is the co-author (with Gary Chapman) of The Five Languages of Apology.
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