Dear Bob ... I have an anger management issue. It isn't so severe that I need to see a psychologist or anything like that, but in business meetings I do sometimes lose my cool a bit, and it's hurting my career. Mostly, what's going on is that I let my irritation get the better of me. Once I do, I find myself saying something sarcastic and insulting to someone else in the room. I immediately regret it, of course, Dear Bob …I have an anger management issue. It isn’t so severe that I need to see a psychologist or anything like that, but in business meetings I do sometimes lose my cool a bit, and it’s hurting my career.Mostly, what’s going on is that I let my irritation get the better of me. Once I do, I find myself saying something sarcastic and insulting to someone else in the room. I immediately regret it, of course, but it doesn’t matter – the damage is done. I know this might be a bit beyond the scope of an IT advice column, but since I’m in IT and I need advice, I figured, what the heck.– CrabbyDear Crabby (hey, that has a nice ring to it!) … Me too. I understand. There are times when you sit in a meeting and some waste of what otherwise would be perfectly good carbon drones on and on about some banal insight that wasn’t worth having in the first place. Your pulse starts to pound, your fists clench, and you fight the urge to wrap your fingers around someone’s throat, squeezing until their eyes start to bulge, their face turns red, and they can’t draw their next breath.The only question is whether you strangle the speaker or yourself.Sorry … I got carried away for a moment. Where was I? Oh, yes, anger management. Here’s something that might help: Research (and my own experience bears this out) shows that moods can come from the outside in. Which is to say, by changing your facial expression and posture you can adjust your attitude to nearly the extent that your facial expression and posture reveal your attitude.Decide before the next meeting starts what mood you want to be in when the next outpouring of utter drivel begins. For business meetings, I find that relaxed, confident and slightly amused works pretty well. You might choose something different. But whatever you choose, decide on it in advance, then start with the facial expression and posture you wear when you feel that way.If that doesn’t work, you might consider buying a set of noise cancelling headphones and an iPod. Figure it this way: You’re going to offend someone anyway – you might as well enjoy some good music when you do. – Bob ——– Technology Industry