Communications has some really dumb lore stitched into it. One of the silliest is the ‘never apologise’, rule that is trotted out, usually while people are panicking. It’s nonsense. Of course, always listen to what your lawyers say, and they’ll always say never to apologise. You don’t have to do this. Every situation is different, sometimes it is right to say sorry, its more important to fix what went wrong though. Sometimes, it’s not right to say sorry. The important thing, though, is to remember that every case is different and you, the Comms professional, should have good advice about the pros and cons of doing so. If you are ever in a crisis scenario, make sure that you take 10 minutes away from the helter-skelter and work out a list of pros and cons so that you can give consistent advice – people will look to you for an answer and you should be prepared to give a logical one which fits the circumstances.