Gossip prevention rests with two people – the person speaking it, and the person listening to it. The best way to stop gossip is to:

1. Demonstrate loyalty and friendship by refusing to listen to or spread it—simply do not permit insinuations or negative discussion at all.

2. Should someone begin to repeat a story about someone else, politely say that you would prefer to talk about that person when they is are present.

3. If not, you have to listen politely (without any comment), and change the subject as soon as possible — do not repeat the information to anyone else.

4. If someone confides personal information to you, keep it to yourself.

5. Sometimes rumors get started despite the best prevention methods. So, the very last best way to defuse gossip is to ignore it.

6. If gossip is directed at you, behave as if the rumors are not affecting you; otherwise, you may be perceived as weak.

7. Instead of lashing out defensively, continue with your life and disregard the talk—ultimately your deeds and actions will overcome any gossip—your behavior, what you do (and don’t do) will speak for itself. Actions are always stronger than words.

8. Decide whether using confrontation make them go away or cause you to waste time answering accusations. If you decide to face the accusations, you need to ascertain if you should confront a group or just the source.

As upset as it can be, don’t let gossip waste your time and energy when you need to be focusing on more important issues concerning your life. The best way to handle gossip after all is to avoid it as much as you can and then ignore the rest.