Men: You've really done it this time...you blew it...how do you show you are truly sorry?

I make love to her. That always works.

I have to second @MRSHINYSHOES, and add toss her on her back and lick her to the Big ‘O’.

I acknowledge my error and further acknowledge how I am very aware of how I hurt her. Important to be very specific with as many details. This is now all about her and the damage that has been done. Next is to outline what can be done to prevent a repeat or better yet how us two will move past this pain I caused.

Grand gestures while they may seem the thing to do I feel simply throw a big blanket over the problem. Instead I find focused attention to your S/O is more in order…simple loving things…as from here on out it is your actions that will prove your remorse more than mere words. Like the guys above….hot make up sex helps smooth over the wrinkles! ;)

Well, every woman is different because I’ve been told that all one can do is just prove over time that they’ve learned from their mistake by showing they’re sorry through action. Sometimes a sincere apology is all that is needed or even feasible. I’ve given large displays of flowers, but she was still just as upset as before, so why did I waste the money?

If one big present is all it takes to make up for it, it probably wasn’t that bad, or it was just a guilt tripping tactic to get something material. I’m not falling for it, sorry Darling.

I’m a knucklehead when it comes to saying I’m sorry or apologizing. Just can’t get around to saying the actual words but what I do is be the most gentle with my voice and ask her to have dinner somewhere. And of course, when she asks me to buy something from the internet, I just shut the heck out of my mouth and obey.

Wow! Great answers everyone….thank you. It’s interesting, isn’t it? I dated someone who was so inept at romance, or apologies or (anything else, really) that it was living without water in a desert. When he knew he had “blown it” he just sort of mumbled an apology. There were never any gifts…no gestures..and none of that “other stuff” you all seem to think “makes it all up” in one gesture that somehow benefits you too. If he had just bought me one present, one thoughtful gift, something that I really wanted (and it didn’t have to be expensive) I would have just melted right there. That’s how much the gesture from this particular man (who was clueless) would have meant. I would have then been open to just “talking”. But he never did…anything, really. He was amazingly thoughtless. I really do think that some men’s development is just arrested and they just use the “What more can I do?” excuse when they are just lazy and can’t be bothered to be a gentleman.( I don’t need to tell you where this relationship went.)

Then, I was in a relationship with someone who was really open emotionally and when he was “in the doghouse” so to speak, he would still do something nice first…I would come home and the house would be cleaned and there would be a candlelit dinner (for example)....and that was it for me. I was a goner. We would talk and then only then would I even be in the mood for the other stuff. So, it didn’t take some big diamond encrusted necklace, okay? Just saying @Blackberry. I’ve also been given huge displays of flowers and you are right, sometimes we are madder than ever with that. Here’s a hint….give the flowers 24 hours after the dust has settled. Not right when it happens, or you are liable to end up with flowers in your hair. And when you give the flowers, you should write a letter or note, too. Or say, “Listen here are some flowers….let’s go for a walk…to just sit and spend some time together.”

I cannot tell you how simple gestures of tenderness and thoughtfulness can turn things around…I suppose that was what prompted my question. I also had a dad who always gave presents to my mom (and vice-versa) so a gift/flowers/presents are really something that I resonate with…..and may not work with other women. And they weren’t always expensive gifts…just things that they both knew they would like. (Sometimes it was something as innocuous as a flashlight…“You told me that you needed a flashlight to keep in your car for emergencies.” I remember that one. You’d think my mom had been given the Hope Diamond. Why? Because it was a gesture that a) showed that he remembered b) showed that he truly cared about her safety. )

Thanks for answering….lurve coming to all.