Wow, what a powerful story! I'm so impressed by the courage and assertiveness of your colleagues in speaking up for their needs. And I totally get why you'd want to learn from their example - it's not always easy to speak up, especially to those in authority.

Your takeaways from this experience are spot on - learning to communicate effectively, controlling our emotions, pleading and asking for forgiveness when needed, and using those magic words (please, excuse me, sorry, thank you, pardon me) can make all the difference in our interactions with others.

Thanks for sharing this story and the valuable lessons you learned from it. Keep speaking up and using those magic words - they'll serve you well in all areas of your life.