DUARTE BUSINESS ENGLISH

Mini- Masterclass: Avoiding saying ‘I made a mistake’

The words ‘mistake’ or ‘error’ are negative words and should be avoided whenever possible in Business English.  Below I’ll break down the perfect alternatives for every single situation when you made an ‘oops’ but need to style it out professionally!

Soft & Responsible Alternatives:

(Good for most settings)

• “That one’s on me.”
• “I take full responsibility for that.”
• “That was an oversight on my part.”
• “I missed that—thanks for catching it.”
• “I realize I made an error there. I’ll fix it right away”
• “I let that one get right past me —won’t happen again.”

VOCABULARY

Oversight = mistake/error

On me = my fault

Slightly Casual but Still Professional:

(More of a modern tone)

• “I dropped the ball on that one.” (missed a task/responsibility)
• “I messed that one up a bit—let me fix it.”
• “That didn’t go as planned—let me go ahead and fix that for you.”
• “That was a mix-up on my end.

VOCABULARY

Pan out = work out how you expected

On my end = my responsibility

Fixing Errors:

(You’re already aware of the mistake and are fixing it or have already fixed it)

• “I’ve already taken steps to correct it.”
• “I’ve fixed the issue and put in place a better process going forward.”
• “That’s now resolved—thanks for your patience.”
• “I appreciate the heads-up. I’ve updated it accordingly.”
• “It’s sorted now. Thanks again for flagging it.”

VOCABULARY

Heads up = warning

Sorted = dealt with/fixed

To flag = alert/mention

Mistakes from Misunderstanding:

(When a mistake was unintentional or simply because of miscommunication)

• “Looks like I misunderstood the instructions.”
• “I misread the timing/details—totally my doing. I’ll fix it.”
• “I was under the impression that… but I see now that I was off.”
• “Apologies—I was working with outdated info.”

VOCABULARY

Misread = read something incorrectly

Under the impression = think

Off = incorrect

idioms and phrases

(To talk about mistakes)

Drop the ball – fail to act on something

“I really dropped the ball on that deadline.”

A Slip-up – a mistake

“That was my slip-up on the report.”

Slip up – make a small mistake

“I slipped up on that part of the report.”

Own up to – admit something / take full responsibility

“Let me own up to that—it was my mistake.”

A Mix-up – a confusion/error

“Looks like there was a mix-up on my end.”

Mix up – confuse

“Looks like I mixed up the dates.”

I hope you found all these tips useful. Happy learning!

Melissa B Duarte, Duarte Business English