Responses to unwelcome gossip:
Let’s suppose that somebody is gossiping mercilessly about Jane. It’s important not to feed the gossiper with curiosity, agreement and further questions. It’s best to simply change the subject. Here are some other possible responses:
“I notice that you talk about Jane a lot. I’m curious why she interests you so much?”
“Let’s take a look at it from Jane’s side.”
“I am more interested in what you are up to.”
“Let’s talk about something more positive or decide what we’re going to do this afternoon.”
“I feel uncomfortable listening to negative judgments about people unless we figure out how to help them.”