How do you manage Anger?

“Anger: The emotion that can make your sweat boil and tip the lid off, if you let it.”

We all get angry. We are only human. We would be robots if we did not get angry. No one said that we are not allowed to get angry. The important key is how we manage our ANGER. If we let anger get the best of us, we can end up saying things we regret, possibly breaking things, or do things that can compromise our reputation, especially as a web designer or developer.  How we manage our anger can affect our relationships with our coworkers and our clients. Who wants to work with someone that stomps around, yells and screams at the top of their lungs, or throwing things?

We are web professionals and it is necessary to act professionally with our co-workers and our clients, no matter how angry or frustrated we get.

I have dealt with situations and angry people numerous times, especially working in the customer service type field for over ten years. I have been yelled at by angry customers and it immediately sent my sweat boiling.

Here are some tips that I have learned over the years that help me deal with my anger before it explodes:

1. Take a Deep Breath

When you are in the situation where your client is angry and frustrated, take a deep breath and concentrate on your breathing.

According to an article Three Minutes to Stress Relief by Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD, “Taking a restorative pause to focus on your breathing can also be a valuable anger-management tool.”

2.. Remain Calm

No matter how hard it may seem at the moment you heat up in anger, strive to remain calm. Sometimes when you remain calm in the situation where someone is yelling at you, it may end up calming them down as well.

In the article How to Remain Calm When Dealing With an Angry Person, author Ron Huxley says,”When you remain composed under pressure, it also encourages the other person to calm down and talk more rationally. By carefully listening you may discover that the angry person has:

• Magnified an incident out of proportion
• Misunderstood information
• Interpreted your statement or action as a personal attack
• Picked a fight to cover up a larger issue
• Made you aware of a genuine complaint that you need to address”

3. Take a Timeout

Sometimes you just need a timeout. If you are angry and dealing with an angry client, you may just need to step out for a moment to refresh and calm down. If you are on the phone with your client, ask them if you can call them back. If your client is in person, tell them you need a moment.  Wait until you calm down before you re-enter the situation or talk to your client. It is difficult to resolve an issue when both parties are angry.

The key to calming yourself down is to take a time-out-essentially a break or a delay-away from the situation that provoked your anger. There are two steps involved in taking a time-out from anger.

Tobias Miller says in the article, Taking a Time Out From Anger, “Get away from the situation. The first step in taking a time-out is to get away from the situation that has triggered your anger. You need a break to gather your thoughts before you do anything else.”

If you manage your anger in a positive way, it is not only good for your clients but your reputation as well. You will earn the respect as a web professional that is beneficial to your career.

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