Step1
Understanding the Boilerplate. Most wives don't blow their top with no reason. Rest assured you did something that irritated them in the first place. For example, you promised to be home by 8 pm but you had an emergency meeting in the office and you failed to call home. I'm sure that when you're on your way home, your wife already stole the fire from Prometheus making ready to incinerate you.
When this happens, be sure you know your way in the kitchen (like knowing where to duck) or you still have some athleticism in you to barge your way out of the garage.
Or you can simply talk sense with her. Explain to her how difficult it was for you to make the call. If she doesn't get it, sleep it over. One thing's sure, wives know when their men are telling the truth.
Step2
Contextualize. Most men meet their wives like seething arrows. Instead of keeping their cool, they exchange harsh words with their wives which make things much worse. To keep your cool, understand why in the first place your wife is in no mood to make you her Romeo. You must have forgotten to take your bath three-weeks straight or you have failed to brush your teeth for two consecutive days. Her anger only shows her concern over your hygiene. You could have forgotten your anniversary, the kids' math tournament, or you have forgotten to dispose the garbage. Remember, women, just like God, "is in(to) the details".
Step3
On limited occasions, stand your ground. You should remind your wife, through your actions, that you're her equal. That's how you get their respect especially when they're really being "unreasonable". Sometimes (maybe always for some of you), they go ballistic even with the most inane things. I remember this one time I lost my job and when I arrived home my wife nagged at me for some unknown reason. She was like a monkey on my back talking, err... shouting relentlessly like a wood-pecker making noise. She didn't even bother to ask how I was which she normally does. The worst part was, she did it in front of the kids. You know what I did? I smashed our brand new flat screen telly worth US$ 2,000.00. She shut up.
I'm not saying you should do the same thing and start breaking expensive home appliances. But whenever my wife starts to nag at me, I start looking at our furnitures or those other expensive home equipment and she steps back a bit, and stops.
Step4
Listen. It sounds simple but really, this is the hardest part. I have friends who realized too late they married someone from another dimension. One friend told me that he married someone from the Matrix while he's from Middle Earth. There was even a point in their life they were considering to get separated. Fortunately, both of them took the time and effort to work things out. They learned the art of listening. You can have a sit down with your wife or decide a day in which you just talk. The cool part is when you're both speaking without words but still understand each other.
In my case, my wife and I agreed that there is a day in a week just for our individual selves. No mobile calls, no text messaging, no asking what the other was doing. Just plain trust. And we're imperfectly happily married.
Novice 
