The word “sorry” serves a purpose…to express remorse for a mistake.
If you use “sorry” in the following ways, you may want to reconsider your choice of words:
– Sorry to disturb you…
– I’m sorry, but…
– I’m sorry to bring this up…
You’ve got to ask yourself what you’re apologising for. Consider replacing these minimising sentence starters with:
– Do you have a minute to…(when asking for someone’s attention)
– I’d like to confirm my understanding… (when clarifying a message)
– It’s important to discuss this…(to focus attention on something difficult)
When tempted to start a sentence with “Sorry but I…”(e.g. Sorry, but I want to clarify what you just said), remove the “sorry” and the “but” then proceed with the rest i.e. “I’d like to clarify what you just said…”
If you do this one thing, your communication will become much more impactful.