Pragmatics lesson from my Business English Class

1. APOLOGIZING, INTERRU
PTING, AND EXCUSING
ONESELF
GBUS 495, Ms. Quinones

2. Overview
 Apologies
 Interruptions
 Excusing Oneself

3. Apologizing
Asking Forgiveness

4. Definition: “Apologize”
 To express regret for doing or saying something
wrong: to give or make an apology
 Source: Merriam Webster’s Learners Dictionary (Online)

5. Why & When Do We Apologize
Why When
 Clarifies  You have responsibility
misunderstandings for causing
 Indicates status (those in misunderstanding/proble
power seldom m.
apologize)  You are trying to show
 Shows respect for others deference to someone
 Improves relationships  You want to show
respect
 You do not want
someone to become or
remain angry

6. Expressions
 I'm very sorry for / that ...
 I apologize if I ...
 I apologize for (+ ing form of verb)
 Please forgive me for …
 I didn’t mean to …

7. Formula for Apologies
 Apology
 Take responsibility and say you are sorry.
 Ex. I am sorry that I ate your apple.
 Reason
 Tell them why you did what you did (if appropriate).
 Ex. It was on my desk, and I didn’t know it belonged to
you.
 Promise or Action
 Promise you will try not to do it again.
 Ex. Next time, I will ask before eating something.
 Action – do something to try to fix the situation.
 Ex. Let me buy you a new one.

8. Sample Apologies-
Appropriate?
Analyze the following apologies:
 Apology by News Broadcaster
 Sheldon Apologizes to Penny
 Buddy’s Big Apology (The Nutty Professor)
 Kramer’s Apology

9. Discussion
 How would you apologize in the following
situations?
 If you accidentally bumped into the person next to
you in line.
 If you missed class or a meeting.
 If you are late for meeting or interview.
 If you forgot to bring something you needed.
 If you inadvertently insulted someone.
 If you dropped and broke something.

10. Reactions to Apologies
 It is customary to accept an apology with phrases
such as:
 Apology accepted.
 It’s ok
 Don’t worry about it.
 That’s all right.
 Never mind.
 You don’t need to apologize.
 Don’t mention it.
 I quite understand. I’m sure you couldn’t help it.
 No harm done.

11. Reactions to Apologies
 On some occasions, an apology may not be
accepted if the injured party feels the apology
is insincere or the offense was too serious to
forgive easily.
 This can lead to strained relationships if it is
not resolved quickly.

12. Practice
 Over the next few days, make note of a few
things:
 The situations where you hear people apologizing
 The reasons for the apology
 The reaction
Use a chart similar to Reason below.
 Situation Apology the one Reaction
A person “I’m so sorry, They knocked The victim
bumped into that was my the person’s accepted help.
another person fault. Let me books down.
in the hallway. help you.”

13. Interrupting
Butting in…

14. Definition: Interrupt
 1 : to ask questions or say things while another person
is speaking : to do or say something that causes
someone to stop speaking [+ obj]
 2 [+ obj] : to cause (something) to stop happening for a
time
 3 [+ obj] : to cause (something) to not be even or
continuous : to change or stop the sameness or
smoothness of (something)

15. Why We Interrupt
Here are just a few reasons why we interrupt
others:
 To tell someone something important
 To add information
 To get more information
 To ask for clarification
 To say hello
 To try to be helpful
 To agree/disagree

16. When to interrupt
 When the person has finished saying what they
have to say
 When the person speaking slows down
 When the speaker pauses
 When they send non-verbal signals that they are
finishing or are ready for interruption.
 When the speaker has had a fair amount of time to
speak.

17. Ways to interrupt
 Agreement Interrupt: Enthusiastically agree.
 Body Language Interrupt: Non-verbal signal intent to
butt in.
 Clarification Interrupt: Ask for clarification. Check you
understand.
 Continuation Interrupt: Pick up where they might leave
off.
 Disagreement Interrupt: Disagree with what is said.
 Disinterest Interrupt: Appear disinterested in what they
say.

18. Ways to Interrupt
 Distraction Interrupt: Become distracted by something
else.
 Encouragement Interrupt: Keep them talking.
 External Interrupt: Use a third party to interrupt.
 Identity Interrupt: Prod the identity of the person.
 Loudmouth Interrupt: Talk more loudly than the other
person.
 Motormouth Interrupt: Jump in and talk quickly.

19. Ways to Interrupt
 Question Interrupt: Just ask them a question.
 Power Interrupt: Use your power to grab control.
 Permission Interrupt: Ask if you can interrupt.
 Touch Interrupt: Touch them gently as you interrupt.
 'Yes, and' Interrupt: Say 'Yes, and,...'
 'Yes, but' Interrupt: Say 'Yes, but...’

20. Interruption Examples
 TED “Interruption”
 Inappropriate Speech: Don’t Interrupt
 Ron Paul Interrupted
 Angry person interrupted
 Sheldon Being Interrupted
 George on the Phone
 Linda Thomson Meeting
 Catch Me If You Can

21. Practice
 What would you say or do to appropriately
interrupt in the following situations?
 To interrupt to ask a question in the middle of
class
 To interrupt your boss in a meeting to clarify
something
 To interrupt your friend’s conversation to say hi
 To interrupt your coworker’s conversation over
lunch to tell them you both need to return to the
office.
 To interrupt your parents to tell them good news

22. Excusing Oneself
“Excuse me”

23. What is “Excusing”
Someone/thing?
1 To forgive someone for something bad that
they have done, especially something that is not
very serious
 Please excuse my messy handwriting.
 excuse someone for (doing) something:
I hope you'll excuse us for leaving so early.

24. What is “Excusing”
Someone/thing?
2 [often passive] To give someone permission to
leave
 Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get going.
 To give someone permission not to do
something that they usually have to do
 excuse someone from (doing) something:
 You're excused from doing the dishes tonight.

25. What is “Excusing”
Someone/thing?
3 To provide a reason or explanation for
something bad that someone has done, in order
to make it seem less bad.
Iknow he's over 70, but that doesn't excuse his
sexist attitudes.

26. When Should I Excuse Myself?
 Reasons to “excuse” yourself:
 You need to leave early or unexpectedly.
 You need to take a phone call (while being with
someone).
 You said something you didn’t mean to and need
to clarify.
 You need to interrupt someone.
 You need to attend to someone interrupting you.
 You committed a social faux pas (unintentional
blunder).

27. How Does One Excuse
Oneself?
 Common Expressions:
 “Excuse me”
 “I beg your pardon”
 “Pardon me”
 “May I be excused?”
 “I’m sorry”

28. Bringing it all together
• Apologizing and excusing oneself are
closely linked.
• Additionally, it is often helpful to excuse
oneself when interrupting someone.

29. Questions?