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Keeping It Cool: 8 Strategies To Respond To A Partner Who Is Angry

Sara Knick
3 min readApr 30, 2021

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

Have you ever been in the awkward situation where someone you were with became totally frustrated and angry? How are you supposed to react to something like that? Are there ways to diffuse the situation graciously?

The good news is that from now on, you can be armed with the following strategies to help you manage this uncomfortable situation:

1. Just listen. When angry, many of us want to vent our feelings to someone. And it’s usually done to those who are in close proximity at the time. So a great strategy to use is simply to listen to the person express their anger until they “wind down.”

2. Don’t worry about whether you agree with them or not. Your thoughts and feelings about the situation are best kept to yourself when someone is angry.

Unless they’re angry with you and you’re personally involved in the situation, refrain from sharing your own feelings about whatever’s happening to agitate the other person.

3. Say you’re sorry. Although the situation that angered the person may not be your fault, it’s perfectly appropriate to say, “I’m sorry you’re upset.” Interestingly, when an angry person hears this, they often calm down.

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Sara Knick
Sara Knick

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