Every news cycle highlights something that someone wants an apology for.  The apology rarely happens, and when it does, it is often underwhelming and leaves much to be desired.  Jon and Jackie dissect a 2014 paper written by Stanford Psychologist Karina Schumann in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that suggests a good apology has eight specific parts:

 

The words "I'm sorry."

The words "I was wrong," or some variation thereof.

An acknowledgment of the action being apologized for.

An honest description of the action without blaming others.

An emphasis on understanding how the wronged person has been hurt.

An outline of plans to make amends for the damage the was done.

An assurance that what's being apologized for won't happen again.

An ask for forgiveness.