Patrick Field Speaks About Effective Public Apology on Minnesota Public Radio

Patrick Field, CBI's Managing Director, North America, was recently featured as a guest commentator on a Minnesota Public Radio broadcast along with staff writer for Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams.

The program, aired on November 18, 2010 and entitled, "How Disgraced Public Figures Can Find Redemption", centered on how high-profile individuals rebuild a reputation in tatters and why, as a society, Americans often easily forgive such public figures. Program host, Kerri Miller, observed that the process of recovering from a fall-from-grace seems to be becoming shorter and much less complex.

During the show, Field, co-author of Dealing with an Angry Public, detailed the five critical steps that are necessary for making an effective public apology:  
·     Acknowledge the mistake;
·     Recognize the hurt or harm you did; 
·     Take responsibility;
·     State your remorse; and
·     Make amends, changes, and mitigate problems.

He went on to say that although the factors that determine whether an apology is successful are complex, the last step of making amends, changes and mitigating problems is crucial, as the public can sense whether an apology is genuine or not, and those who do not back their statements with visible changes are often seen as insincere.

Listen to a podcast of the program below.