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" Call it a faux pas, a gaffe, a blunder, or a goof\u2014we&amp;#039;ve all had those cringe-worthy moments that make us wish we could hit rewind to erase what we&amp;#039;ve just said. You might be tempted to hightail it out of the room, but that will only aggravate the situation. So read on for the smart way to deliver your mea culpa\u2014and make things right.  Slipup #1: You ask, &amp;quot;When&amp;#039;s your baby due?&amp;quot; and hear in response, &amp;quot;What baby?&amp;quot;   You know you shouldn&amp;#039;t ask a woman about her due date unless she&amp;#039;s wearing a &amp;quot;Baby on Board&amp;quot; sign, but come on, that woman was clearly pregnant. Except...she wasn&amp;#039;t.   &amp;quot;The minute you realize what you&amp;#039;ve done, say something positive, such as, &amp;#039;Oh, I&amp;#039;m so sorry\u2014you just seem to have that special glow about you. You look great,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; advises Gloria Petersen, founder and president of Global Protocol, a business-etiquette firm. Putting a complimentary spin on your blooper restores her dignity\u2014and yours.  &amp;quot;Then end it there,&amp;quot; adds Petersen. After any verbal flub, it&amp;#039;s tempting to go on and on, trying to fix things, but it&amp;#039;s best to keep your recovery short and sweet. You&amp;#039;re already flustered, so you&amp;#039;ll likely dig a deeper hole for yourself as you try to smooth things over. Besides, people tend to remember how a given incident ended much longer than they remember how it began, says Petersen, so a simple, heartfelt apology laced with flattery will make your fumble history.  Slipup #2: You say something not so nice about someone (&amp;quot;Joe is such an idiot\u2014he has no idea how to manage a department&amp;quot;)...only to realize that he&amp;#039;s standing right behind you.   Sure, you could play mum and pretend you never uttered those snarky words, but that won&amp;#039;t change the fact that he heard them loud and clear. A better idea: Immediately approach the person you insulted and say, &amp;quot;Can we speak privately for a minute?&amp;quot; advises Petersen; your desire to address the situation one-on-one\u2014pronto\u2014shows your sincere intention to make amends.  Once you&amp;#039;re alone, Petersen suggests putting your remark in context: &amp;quot;It was wrong to call you an idiot. I overreacted because I didn&amp;#039;t agree with your decision.&amp;quot; And since you&amp;#039;ve seriously offended this person, humility is key, so finish with an apology: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry. I hope you&amp;#039;ll forgive me.&amp;quot;  Slipup #3: You tell your coworkers that you can&amp;#039;t join them for lunch because you have an appointment. But on their way to the restaurant, they see you trying on shoes in a local boutique.   A lighthearted approach is the perfect way to take the edge off in situations where you haven&amp;#039;t seriously insulted anyone in a personal way, says Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and author of How Do You Work This Life Thing? Try something along the lines of, &amp;quot;Did I mention my appointment was with Dr. Scholl&amp;#039;s? I just had to have a pair of those new sandals&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;So, my evil twin is in town, and I hear she told a little white lie.&amp;quot;  But humor alone won&amp;#039;t get you off the hook. You lied, you&amp;#039;re busted\u2014and you need to say you&amp;#039;re sorry. Just make sure you apologize for the right thing; here, your offense wasn&amp;#039;t saying no to lunch but lying about why you turned down the invitation. Post suggests a straightforward approach: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry, guys. I was stupid to think you&amp;#039;d be offended if I said I wanted to go shopping instead. I should have known better.&amp;quot;  Slipup #4: At your pal&amp;#039;s bridal shower, you\u2014happily married for three years\u2014say you&amp;#039;re so glad your friend is engaged now that she&amp;#039;s 36, since after that age, &amp;quot;Good luck finding a normal guy!&amp;quot; Then you remember that your audience is a group of her college buds\u2014all single.   Tread delicately, since you&amp;#039;ve already come across like a Smug Married in a room full of Singletons, as Bridget Jones would say. Post suggests this follow-up: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve just had such bad luck in the past\u2014you wouldn&amp;#039;t believe the sad group of guys I dated\u2014but I didn&amp;#039;t mean to assume everyone&amp;#039;s experience would be the same.&amp;quot; Citing your dating disasters will help your audience see where you were coming from. What&amp;#039;s more, that bit of self-deprecating honesty will show everyone the genuine\u2014and appealing\u2014person you truly are.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/friends-family/a1927/cant-believe-i-said-that-yl/?click=main_sr>