You might remember being forced to read the Iliad in high school, perhaps you skimmed over this antiquated opportunity to discover the battle of Troy.  Troy you say, oh yes. Now, you might be picturing Brad Pitt as Achilles.  You know what the whole story was about?  No, it’s not about Helen with the face that launched a thousand ships.  It was about Achilles’ anger.  Anger takes over when your reason falters, turning minor injustices and wounded pride into an insatiable search for righteous revenge.   Learning how to control your anger, how to incorporate anger into your presentation, and how to guide your audience’s rage are difficult and dangerous tasks.

Anger can surface in any audience.  It can take the form of an interruption, an accusation or even an outright challenge.    The key is to listen as deeply as possible, while not taking it personally, even if the attack is personal.  You have no idea what is going on in someone’s life and why they have chosen this moment to vent.  By listening empathetically, you allow them to vent without giving them a reason to escalate their anger.  Often your audience will come to your aid when they see you earnestly listening to, instead of dismissing, the interruption.  Guiding anger is a delicate balance between respecting the individual and keeping to your agenda.

There is a lot to be angry about (traffic, taxes, and FOX TV) and some people dedicate their lives to this emotion.   Provoking anger is an effective way to get people to act without thinking.  Turn a troubling situation into a personal threat to your listeners. Repeatedly point out the injustice of it all, seasoning your comments with what they and their children will lose. Their aversion to loss and protective instincts will take over.  Once your listeners’ reason can no longer question why you are giving them this message you can harangue them to vote, boycott and march.  On a personal level, you can use anger to dramatically define your message.  Most personal triumphs proceed from discontent to disgust, and distill into anger.   Raging at your personal demons can help another soul summon the resolve to defeat their own.  Anger can be used to manipulate and elucidate, just be clear why your reasons require others to be unreasonable.

The simplest way to control your anger is to decide whether you want to be right or be happy.  Investing your emotional energy into railing against the injustices you suffer, blaming others for them, and battling over perspective which differ from yours is a righteous path.  It is also exhausting.  Choosing happiness does not mean pretending there are no problems.  It means you choose where and when to invest your emotional energy.  Getting angry can even be fun when it is a choice, not when it is a habit.

Anger is an emotional epic, an inextricable part of you and everyone you know.  Its expression and influence are powerful and seductive, and often overwhelming.  The Achilles heel of anger is your ability to choose how, if at all, to present it.