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Anger Management and Emotional Control | Monday | Period 1
Monday, September 2nd, 2013 08:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
justoneconditionIt was possible that one day, Bruce might deign to teach class in a room with actual rows of desks and things. He had done it all of once in first-aid class, after all. However, it was looking like Anger Management and Emotional Control was not going to be a repeat of that experience – at least not today, for the first session.
Instead, there was a circle of chairs. Yeah, like in group therapy. Except that Bruce, in all his genius, hadn't fully thought through the awkwardness of sitting among a group of people who could all see each other equally well, because the fact that one of his legs was jittering slightly was now uncomfortably obvious for all to see.
Great.
He set his hands on his knees to still the jittering somewhat. "Hi," he said. "I'm Dr. Banner, and we probably won't be sitting like this again. And this is Anger Management and Emotional Control."
He should have said those last two things in the opposite order, probably.
"Even though the title is pretty self-explanatory, I'll just sum up for the record that this class will be about the long-standing human – and, I expect, non-human as well – effort to consciously moderate emotional reactions for any reason. Sometimes, business executives take classes in anger management when they have reactive tempers and want to stop throwing tantrums in the middle of meetings. In other cases, gamblers and negotiators study how to mask their expressions so that they can't be called on their bluff at crucial moments. It can also be used to pass polygraph tests."
Not that he was encouraging lying to cops or anything. Just stating a fact.
"Some of the skills we'll be using are visualization, improvisation, and awareness of yourself and your own physicality," Bruce added. "With that in mind, let's spend a few minutes on introductions. Please say your name, something that interests you academically, and one or more physical tics or habits you exhibit from time to time. You don't have to tell us when or why you do it – just what the gesture is. For example, I sometimes scratch the back of my neck."
Which he recognized for what it was: a nervous habit. But it was deliberate and put-upon as often as it was sincere, so Bruce didn't mind it at all.
"Then, partner up with someone and try to have a conversation, standing up, without using your gesture. Partners, don't try too hard to get reactions out of each other – we'll save that for future classes – but just focus on keeping yourselves reactionless. See what happens."
With that, he glanced around the room, head tilted slightly in the universal signal for 'Any questions?', and then gave a nod. "Let's get to the introductions, then."
Instead, there was a circle of chairs. Yeah, like in group therapy. Except that Bruce, in all his genius, hadn't fully thought through the awkwardness of sitting among a group of people who could all see each other equally well, because the fact that one of his legs was jittering slightly was now uncomfortably obvious for all to see.
Great.
He set his hands on his knees to still the jittering somewhat. "Hi," he said. "I'm Dr. Banner, and we probably won't be sitting like this again. And this is Anger Management and Emotional Control."
He should have said those last two things in the opposite order, probably.
"Even though the title is pretty self-explanatory, I'll just sum up for the record that this class will be about the long-standing human – and, I expect, non-human as well – effort to consciously moderate emotional reactions for any reason. Sometimes, business executives take classes in anger management when they have reactive tempers and want to stop throwing tantrums in the middle of meetings. In other cases, gamblers and negotiators study how to mask their expressions so that they can't be called on their bluff at crucial moments. It can also be used to pass polygraph tests."
Not that he was encouraging lying to cops or anything. Just stating a fact.
"Some of the skills we'll be using are visualization, improvisation, and awareness of yourself and your own physicality," Bruce added. "With that in mind, let's spend a few minutes on introductions. Please say your name, something that interests you academically, and one or more physical tics or habits you exhibit from time to time. You don't have to tell us when or why you do it – just what the gesture is. For example, I sometimes scratch the back of my neck."
Which he recognized for what it was: a nervous habit. But it was deliberate and put-upon as often as it was sincere, so Bruce didn't mind it at all.
"Then, partner up with someone and try to have a conversation, standing up, without using your gesture. Partners, don't try too hard to get reactions out of each other – we'll save that for future classes – but just focus on keeping yourselves reactionless. See what happens."
With that, he glanced around the room, head tilted slightly in the universal signal for 'Any questions?', and then gave a nod. "Let's get to the introductions, then."
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