I learned a few wonderful tips and thought I would share them:

1. A potential solution to situations like mine is to return to the group of people who overheard my tone (within a day or so) and say something to fix it.

Something like, "I wanted to let you know that my tone a moment ago was NOT what I expected it to be and I was going to apologize. But I felt that de-escalating the situation was more important."

2. If there's no opportunity to do #1, I can indirectly address the situation. If I end up in a conversation about something else, I can look for an opportunity to speak generally of situations like the one that occurred without mentioning what happened or that I was involved.

3. If #1 and #2 are not options, just making a point to demonstrate an appropriate tone of voice and most appropriate behavior moving forward is the the third best remedy. And maybe I can insert the theme of "rules and exceptions" in any context just to get people thinking about it.

Social skills are so important! And I believe that learning them is a life long process for everyone.

Please keep your comments coming, especially if you have additional ways of fixing problems like this.