How to be a good person

When you say “I'm sorry that you felt that way,” you are making the problem someone else's. You’re implying that they’re the one at fault for finding fault in you. If your apology involves subtly diverting blame, then you're not apologizing at all.

A good rule of thumb is to take the word that out of your apology. Instead of saying, “I’m sorry that…”, start by saying, “I’m sorry I…” This acknowledges upfront that you were the one responsible for the hurt and goes farther than “I’m sorry that you feel that way” ever will.