Use concise repair language for common small-talk missteps.
Wrong guess You guessed someone's role, team, or background and were wrong. Repair line "I guessed from the context and got that wrong. Thanks for correcting me." Do not defend why your guess made sense. It owns behavior and impact without making them soothe you. Apology length Which apology protects the other person? A repair should reduce, not increase, the other person's social work. Absent-person joke The group jokes about someone who is not in the room. Pre-meeting small talk is sliding into a norm problem. Redirect "Let's not diagnose her while she's not here. What do we know about…
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