Lessons Learned: Would You or Would You Not.....

[MsMerrick]

Originally Posted by Sweet

(let's see if I can get a poll started without any phone pad typos or foot -in-mouth statements)..... If you were approached by a friend and asked "what do you know about [this person]?..... Would you answer? ...Do you feel obligated to answer a trusted friend? .....Are you quick to answer or do you refrain from getting "in the middle"?...... disclaimer: over the last few months, I've been asked that question by several different people about several other different persons, all non-related situations. I struggle answering because I feel it's gossiping.

Assuming that it is a trusted friend, and they have some good reason to know..ie they are considering dating them, lending them money, whatever ..because I am not interested in discussing people simply to amuse someone..here is how i answer
1... Here are the things i know about the person ( and of course good and bad ) because I have observed this behavior , interacted with them, and seen specific things.
2.. These are things i have heard about them , from people, that I don't consider to be drama queens or people that make stuff up just to make themselves feel important !
3.. Depending on a lot of factors, I may get into general speculation that I have heard, but I'll stress, the lack of reliability.. Whereas with #1 , I consider that information fairly reliable, and #2, again, I can usually attach a percentage of how likely I think the information is.

And btw, I try always, to stick to behavior vs ..general statements about character.