No Audience, No Show

I’ve been observing people at work who constantly want to gossip about others.

They spill tea from someone else’s life and share it with everyone, all while promising not to share it further. But “promise you won’t tell” is the tell. Someone who spends another person’s trust to buy attention will spend yours too.

Constant bitching. Making others look small in front of a different set of people, and gaining popularity just by passing on information. They aren’t popular because of who they are. They’re popular because of what they know.

The worst part is this: people are eager to know about other people’s lives, but they’re also scared that their own might become a public fiasco.

Everyone in that circle is paying for the story with their own peace of mind. And still, they tolerate the nuisance.

The best thing we can do is stop encouraging it. Stop giving them the attention and praise they get when they gossip. Change the subject. Say, “I’d rather hear that from them.”

That disarms them. Gossip only has power when someone is buying.

No audience, no show.