How to Coach Yourself and Others Beware of Manipulation | Page 144

38. Mistakes were made:
The expression "mistakes were made" is
commonly used as a rhetorical device,
whereby a speaker acknowledges that a
situation was handled poorly or
inappropriately but seeks to evade any
direct admission or accusation of
responsibility by using the passive voice.
The acknowledgement of "mistakes" is
framed in an abstract sense with no direct
reference to who made the mistakes. An
active voice construction would be along
the lines of "I made mistakes" or "John Doe
made mistakes." The speaker neither
accepts personal responsibility nor accuses
anyone else. The word "mistakes" also does not imply intent.

39. The "if apology"
This is a favorite of politicians, with lines such as "I apologize if I offended anyone". This kind of
apology shifts the blame onto the offended party, and denies personal acceptance of wrongdoing, as in
"I'm sorry if you were offended b