It’s circulating around you constantly; on television, at work, on the bus, at a friends house, or in a social gathering. Nowadays it seems that there is relatively no place that you are not exposed to gossip. Over time gossiping has evolved from just simply small talk to a money-making business. For decades the social media has capitalized off of disclosing ‘juicy’ details about celebrity lifestyles and behaviors. There are so many opportunities to pass on factual or opinionated information that its going to take a lot of character development to choose not to indulge in such a practice. Nine times out of ten you may be guilty of gossiping more often than not. Most people are very much aware when they are ‘loose-lipped,’ while others may have done it subconsciously and never really realized it. If you are not completely positive what is considered gossip, here are a few examples and some guidelines that will assist you in avoiding it.

The best way to prevent falling victim to gossiping is practicing discretion. If a group of people are talking about someone that you are acquainted with personally, and you overhear them saying things that you know for certain aren’t true, just ignore those individuals completely. Correcting a false statement about an individual does not necessarily make you any less of a gossiper than those that are making falsified ones. Gossip is gossip, no matter how innocent the intentions are.

Another way to avoid gossip is to not contribute to a conversation that is solely intended for the defamation of someone else’s character. This includes sharing personal information about someone other than yourself, especially if you acquired information as such by the person themselves. If someone trusts you enough to come to you in confidence, have the decency to respect their privacy and do not provide them with a reason to regret ever coming to you in the first place. Signing a confidentiality agreement shouldn’t be the only thing that keeps your mouth closed.

Other ways of avoiding gossip is to steer clear of those that you know have a tendency to excessively talk about other people. It may be difficult to have a conversation with a person as such without their casually ‘mentioning’ something interesting they may have heard about someone at school or work. If the nature of the conversation is essentially elaborating on topics that does not pertain to you and the other person or persons involved in the conversation, then that’s probably not one you want to be in. A person that finds it difficult to talk about everything other than yourself and herself/himself in your presence may find it just as challenging to not talk about you in your absence.

Other types of gossiping are expounding on subjects that you are not completely unfamiliar with. If you are not sure about those things in which you choose to discuss, but you make your opinions factual by omitting the phrases ’I think’ or ’I believe,’ then you are gossiping. Avoid eliminating these statements as you are relatively uninformed on the subject at hand. Using these phrases allow people to realize that you are offering an opinion rather than an authentic fact.

The most common form of gossiping are saying nasty things about people that you may disagree with or do not know very well. If you are consistently at odds with someone at the workplace, talk to him or her personally. Be very discreet and professional about it also; pull the person aside and respectfully address the issues you may have with them in the workplace, and try to come to a mutual understanding with each other. Do not confront them in the open because that results in altercations, nor talk badly about them behind their backs; this solves nothing. No one knows anyone better than themselves, so belittling another person in front of everybody will not make him/her any less mysterious to you.

Gossip is primarily the subject of disagreements and generally create confusion so its best not to be a partaker in it. Whether its talking about someone you know personally or elaborating on something that you may have heard about a celebrity, always make sure that you treat people like you would like to be treated. If you have nothing good to say, then don’t say it at all.