Your phrases are valuable. Thanks Michael for giving us these beauties. I have two phrases to add to your list that are doing wonders with my trainees in my work as a personal development trainer. Please forgive me for doing ‘y’ and I’m sorry for ‘x’. Every time we start a conversation — that is hard — with these phrases, the tone of the conversation changes. It is like they see us with a light that was not there before. Thanks again for your wonderful article. I am sharing it with colleagues, friends and family.