Oops! Your Slip is Showing.

“If I could, I would take this @#$%&@* ball and shove it down your @#$%&@* throat.”

“You lie!”

In the heat of the moment and fueled by passion, Type A top performers are notorious for short circuiting between their brains and their lips. Like Mt. Vesuvius belching lava, uncensored thoughts explode and rain down on unsuspecting bystanders who are left shaking their heads and asking, “What just happened?!”. Tennis superstar Serena Williams and Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) are just the two latest apologetic examples.

When asked later if she was threatening the judge, Serena’s candid confession illustrates the spontaneous nature of this Type A explosion.

“No, I didn’t threaten. I didn’t say…I don’t remember anymore, to be honest. I was in the moment.”

Serena was caught in the Type A Moment. What’s your story? When have you been caught in the Type A Moment? Were you the unsuspecting bystander or the belching behemoth?

I’ve personally experienced this eruption on both sides of the equation. And I can tell you, it’s not pretty. Like the time I blew up at my high school track coach and told her she was STUPID. Let’s just say that I found myself in a penance pentathlon…for months.

I’ve coached hundreds of Type A top performers on how to avoid Type A Moments and how to apologize after a volcanic slip.

To sidestep your own Type A Moment, zip your lips before your passion slips. This sounds easy but can actually be quite difficult when you are under intense pressure and filled with high octane passion. The secret? Knowing what triggers cause you to explode and then deactivating the little buggers with a cool and calm brain.

One last note for those of you who are wondering why I didn’t mention Kanye West’s calculated micro-tantrum at the MTV Video Music Awards. His outburst smelled too premeditated to fall into this category. Think about it. He actually had to stand up, jump onto the stage, grab the mike and deliver a speech. There was plenty of time for him to hit the ‘do I really want to do this?’ button. And don’t try to tell me that it was mere coincidence that his conniption fit occurred just before Kanye was scheduled to appear on Jay Leno’s new TV show’s premier. It’s too stinky to be truly spontaneous. We’ll explore Kanye’s dirty trick in another blog. Stay tuned.