There are a lot of instances where people make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes can affect others and logical reasoning can point the blame on you. With no place to run or hide you are given the choice to keep making excuses or do the right thing and make an apology letter.

It doesn’t matter how severe your mistake was, the fact is you are responsible and you know it. Some may not have the guts to face the ones affected and look straight into their eyes and say sorry while others simply end up speechless. If you fall into any of those categories, then maybe you should let the pen and paper do the talking. Forget using the computer and typing it because a real sincere apology letter is written by hand.

Here are some things to know how to write an apology letter for any occasion.

Be Respectful

If you want to gain the person’s respect, you need to do the first move. Start out with a friendly greeting and make sure you address his or her name with proper spelling. A simple mess up can ruin the whole letter and possibly your chances of ever apologizing again.

Be Sincere

If you got plans to reason out so you can dodge, then you aren’t sorry at all! Keep it short and sweet and admit your wrongdoings with a small explanation why things turned out that way. Take note, this is different than making excuses. You don’t want to sound too defensive because that goes against the entire idea of being sorry in the first place.

Look Forward

What is done is done so bring forth some possibilities to go from there. You can start out by vowing never to commit that particular offense again and ask nicely to move on with things. Understand that this may take time especially if the damage is beyond repair. Still a well-written and sincere apology letter can lessen the blow and grant new chances.

Read It Again

Never ever send or give the letter once you are finished. Try to read it yourself and pretend that you are the one affected. See if you can grasp the message of your own words and make any adjustments if necessary. Try to understand how your reader will feel and fine-tune your message so you can hit all the right notes in restoring his or her mood. Don’t forget to check for grammar and spelling too.

There is nothing wrong in writing an apology letter if you mean every word you say. If that doesn’t fix things, either he or she is too affected or don’t have the energy for forgiveness. Don’t be discouraged and give it some time. What matters is you put your own efforts in composing a letter that is asking for forgiveness.

Once the person acknowledges your letter, give yourself a pat on the back and make sure you don’t commit the same mistake again. Apology letters don’t work well if overused so make the most out of them and always stand up to your writings.