There are ten common tactics public individuals may use to apologize when confronted with an embarrassing situation (or one that challenges perceptions of their images). These include: 1) Denial; 2) Differentiate between the acts committed versus the acts for which they are personally to blame; 3) Point to achievements; 4) Attack the attackers; 5) Minimize; 6) Admit (only what they have to); 7) Justify; 8) Differentiate between the “self” who committed the wrongdoing and the normally trustworthy and competent “real” self; 9) Express contrition; 10) Appeal for closure. For this essay, you are tasked with selecting a public figure’s speech of apology, and analyze it for its adherence to the tenets of apologia presented in Chapter 4 of the Simons & Jones text. Some primary questions to consider:
• In what ways did the speaker embrace some (not all) of these 10 characteristics?
• Which were used or emphasized more than others? How do you know?
• Was it an effective speech? Why do you feel the way you do about it?
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