Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Making excuses is a habit that begins rather early in life. You quickly realise that you need to have an excuse for that homework you did not do and 8212; eruka! 8212; you fake an illness. Since you cannot offer the same excuse a second time, you say, 8220;The heavy rains spoilt my books!8221; However, both parents and teachers instantly recognise an excuse when they hear it.
The habit stays and grows with you. The difference is that you become more skilful at it. Since you have to deal with many more people with varied temperaments, you learn that each excuse must carry conviction. This requires great reserves of creativity and a deep study of human responses. As a rule nobody accepts the same excuse every time. For credibility8217;s sake, you need to have variations.
It is useful to remember too that several excuses are always less convincing than just one. So you need to hit on an idea that sounds original and credible. Some people excel in inventing excuses. They seem to understand the human mind. They choose an excuse which is tailor-made to find acceptance with the recepient. Sometimes they weave a story skilfully, throwing in some unusual surprises. The excuse becomes so entertaining that nobody cares about its authencity.
However, if you are addicted to excuses, it is useful to create a repertoire of acceptable ones. These can be classified, filed away, and summoned when the occasion demands it. Inspiration for such excuses can come from various sources: from an incident reported in the newspapers to observing and listening to expert practitioners of the art.
But one thing you need to always bear in mind: never ruin an apology with an excuse.
