I used to start every email to people who were late doing their bit with "sorry to be a pain, but" or "sorry to chase but".
DH does this - I over hear work phone calls and cringe but I think working in IT I learnt to be more direct and to the point - there only so much time before a man talks over you or stops reading rest of e-mail - so pointless apologises and extraneous stuff distracts, and no one really cares.
I do have issues with language though - I think rather than this is so occasionally catch me out but then I have family who will kick off, Fil especially but also my parents, if I’m seen to be dictating where as suggestions are fine – sometime that worth the fight and others not.
On other hand MIL and FIL are great role models to me as well as kids for walking up and just asking for information of people – polite smile and straight into the question.
I’ve never sent my work saying it’s crap before hand – though I remember having to do an induction week early 20s and a public speaking bit and apparently I said right before I went up oh well I’m bad at this they very publicly pulled me up on it afterwards – it cause me to realise every meeting of new people/ big event when my Mum would ring to wish me luck but every time in conversation would tell me how shit I was with people or how bad a public speaker I was.
I called her out on it a year later and she was horrified she apparently hadn’t realised she was doing that – to be fair she’s never done it since.
I think I may sometimes have said something about makeup lack or hair or how tidy house is usually to pre-empt comments from other women when I’ve been back footed previously though I try not to as there are better ways of dealing with such situations.