"When we are wrong, we may admit it to ourselves; and if we are handled gently and tactfully, we may admit it to others and even take pride in our frankness and broadmindedness; but not if someone else is trying to ram the unpalatable fact down our throats." The move is preemptive: "If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically." Carnegie's field case is literal — accused by a policeman of walking his dog off-leash, he condemned himself before the officer could: "You're absolutely right. It's inexcusable" — and the officer, with nothing left to prosecute, dropped it. The mechanism: "By fighting, you never get enough, but by yielding, you get more than you expected."

— In our words · Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)