Career advice: Recovering From an Emotional Discussion

There are basically three ways you can handle this. You can choose to ignore it and carry on as if nothing happened, go to your boss and explain what happened, or wait for your boss to bring up the issue and then respond.

If you think discussing what happened will only make things worse, you must choose the first option. Try to gauge from your boss's behavior if you need to talk about it. If it feels like there's a big elephant sitting in the room with you, then you'll have to address the problem.

If you decide to approach your boss, you must master your feelings about whatever issue made you so upset. Ask several friends to help you learn how to talk about it while keeping your emotions in check. Have them play the "devil's advocate" and really bait you until you can respond in a controlled and professional way. Once you're sure you can do this, ask for an appointment with your boss. Carefully think out why you behaved as you did -- was there another issue you were dealing with as well? If so, explain what was going on -- not as an excuse, but as a fact so he understands the pressure you were feeling. Together you can find a way to make future discussions more productive. Most importantly, remember we're all human beings with feelings, and once in a while, they can get the best of us. One outburst of emotion does not define who you really are.

If you wait for your boss to initiate a discussion, be prepared to respond with a well thought-out discussion about why the behavior occurred. Be sure to follow the suggestions above, so you can talk about your feelings and concerns and avoid another emotional outburst.