When we hear someone gossip, we begin to wonder more about the one who's gossiping than the one who is the subject of the gossip.
Is any of this is true? Is this person trustworthy? Will they turn around and gossip about me,too?
We became guarded around them, careful never to discuss anything about ourselves that might make us vulnerable.
Gossip isn't productive.
In our families, social circles and workplace, we can call gossip what it is and ask the speaker to stop. A simple "I don't want to talk about it," usually does the trick.
We should avoid gossiping, and try to speak up if it seems like a conversation is turning into gossip.
'Well, I was just being honest,' we mutter when someone seems hurt by a harsh observation we make. Honesty is the best policy, but we shouldn't use that as a cop-out to justify acting mean-spirited.
If we have difficult words to speak, we need to do it in a way that honors and respects another person's feelings. If we don't have time for that, we certainly don't have time for cleaning up after the offense we're about to cause.
When you want to be honest about a sticky issue, you will look closely at
your motives.
Do you really want to help the other person or just using this as an opportunity to hurt them?
You'll have to wait for a constructive attitude and can speak with genuine concern.
ps/smoh
