Most gossipers in an organization will initially deny it and will be offended if accused. They probably even believe their own denials. Even when directly confronted with a vicious or poisonous e-mail, the person may insist that they were just being blunt or honest.
So, what can you do? Here is one suggestion: to break through the denial have the person read the nasty or gossipy message aloud. This can also be an excellent tactic to ensure that your own emails are not loaded up with a nastiness that you are not intending. When read aloud, you may very well get a response like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe it. No wonder that person got out of shape.’ Ultimately we all need to become better monitors of our own communication.
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