Gossip

‐ sharing "social chitchat"(people are hardwired to gossip, ie "social chitchat", "guess what I have just heard". It helps uncover useful information and maintain social alliances. Gossiping illustrates how we communicate, and is best done in groups of fewer than 5 people; use it to your advantage; 2/3 of conversations are social chitchat (we spend on average 20% of the day in conversations); average manager has 7.4 main "gossip connections". It is part of vocal capability in normal, healthy group interaction; gossiping is equivalent to grooming in other primates and is used to form & maintain alliances/bonds; seek & share information, especially with people we like; touch is important for humans in social bonding, etc; linked with networking & reciprocity; use gossip to your advantage, ie don't try to stop it, make it effective, eg encourage social "get to-gethers"for chitchat; social groupings of around 4 preferred, ie able to hold people's attention; electronic equipment, like phones, etc, are tools for social chitchat plus status symbols. Keen on stories as used to educate by passing on information, provide links with emotions, make sense of uncertainty, are a way to communicate and demonstrate identity)