“Did you know that at the last company conference Steve, from accounts, was seen coming out of Debbie’s, from marketing, bedroom in the early hours of Sunday morning? And that twice since they have been seen in Luigi’s at lunchtime, and Kathy swears she’s seen them holding hands in the lift. Steve’s married, you know, and I thought Debbie was engaged. What do you think? Should they be carrying on like this?” Answer: “What’s this got to do with me?”
Good, it has nothing to do with you, unless Steve happens to be your boss and his work is being affected, or you happen to be Debbie’s fiancé. This Rule says that you don’t gossip. It doesn’t say you don’t listen. You may find it interesting, and knowing what’s going on comes in useful sometimes. But there is one part of this Rule that is really, really simple—don’t pass anything on. That’s it. Gossip stops with you. If you listen but don’t pass it along or offer an opinion, you’ll be seen as “one of us” rather than a party pooper. You don’t have to be seen disapproving—merely don’t pass anything along.
Gossiping is the occupation of idle minds—those who haven’t got enough work to do. It is also the domain of workers who have mindless jobs to do—jobs they can do without thinking and thus have to occupy themselves with inane chatter, rumors, lies, and malicious stories. Trouble is that if you don’t join in, you can be seen as severe or stuck-up. You have to look as if you gossip without ever doing it. Don’t go getting all self-righteous and telling everyone how silly they are doing it.
With most things, discretion is the key word. Don’t be seen disapproving—just don’t do it, and keep that to yourself.
THERE IS ONE PART OF THIS RULE THAT IS REALLY, REALLY SIMPLE - DON'T PASS ANYTHING ON.
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