How to Avoid Crying at Work [Part 1 of 3]

Last week I linked to a lively discussion of crying in public. In a comment, CM asked how to prevent crying at inappropriate moments. Sintecho asked me the same thing a couple weeks back. So I've rounded up a bunch of bona fide face-savers plus a myth to debunk. From research and my all-too-personal experience, here are twelve ways to avoid tears at work.

· Focus on your breathing
· Take a step back
· Cauterize your tear ducts
· Distract yourself with pain
· Use props
· Let yourself get angry
· Try behavioral modification
· Do it for somebody else
· Forge ahead
· Just ignore it
· Deflect with a white lie
· Be honest and direct

Different situations call for different techniques. An explanation of when, how and why each technique works (or doesn't) follows after the jump...

How to Avoid Crying at Work [Part 3 of 3]

In previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2), I outlined eight ways to avoid crying at work. The techniques were mainly preventive, although some of them could also be used to hurry past tears after you've started crying. (In such situations, for instance, it might still help to take a step back or focus on your breathing.)

My last four tips are different. They won't help you completely avoid crying. These are last resorts for handling tears that come out despite your best efforts.

· Forge ahead
· Just ignore it
· Deflect with a white lie
· Be honest and direct

Different situations call for different techniques. An explanation of when, how and why each technique works (or doesn't) follows after the jump...

How to Avoid Crying at Work [Part 2 of 3]

Previously I described four ways to avoid crying at work: focusing on your breathing, taking a step back, cauterizing your tear ducts, and distracting yourself with pain.

Here are four more tricks for preventing tears...

· Use props
· Let yourself get angry
· Try behavioral modification
· Do it for somebody else

An explanation of when, how, and why each technique works follows after the jump...

Do you cry because you're sad, or because you're angry? [Clippings]

About a week ago, we had a discussion (prompted by coverage of Hillary Clinton) about attorneys showing emotion, either tearing up or outright crying. Jezebel has a related post up, asking their (mostly female) readership: do you cry because you're angry, or because you're sad? The comments thread is interesting--and supportive, if you're one of many women who tears up more easily than she would like. The prompt for Jezzie's post was a Daily Mail article by Carol Sarler, who stakes out the execrably woman-hating woman position that women cry to manipulate. (Maybe some do, but there are plenty of us who hate that we cry, try like hell not to, and know that we suffer adverse consequences when we tear up. Why on earth would we do it on purpose?)

Have you ever "gotten emotional" making an argument, like Hillary? How did you handle it?

Speaking of Hillary (see jessie's last post), you've almost certainly seen this clip of Senator Clinton speaking on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. It's been everywhere on the inter-webs these past 36 hrs. She chokes up a bit, showing some emotion.

[More after the jump]