Many times a rumor will start with one person who hears it from someone else and takes it to be true. Some rumors are true and others are not. We need to remember that a rumor is not the actual facts. Rumors have a life of their own, so the burden of proof lies with the person who is spreading the rumor. The burden of proof lies with you!
A popular example of a rumor that has the power to hurt is where a young child claims that Santa Claus was once a child. The young child hears this rumour and repeats it to other children, thus perpetuating the rumour. In order to help stop such a rumour you can do several things. You should make sure the people spreading the rumour actually know what they are talking about or have some independent evidence to support their statements, you should ask the original child (who isn’t a victim of the rumour) to corroborate the story and you should ask the original child if they would like to be named as a witness to add to the credibility of the information.
The most powerful way to deal with spreading rumors is to simply avoid the person who is doing the spreading. If they are doing it because they feel a need to do it then you should simply walk away from the situation or block them. If you cannot do that, consider reporting the story to the proper authorities. By doing this you can create an environment that will help to stop the tumor from spreading.
If you find yourself doing any kind of gossiping and spreading rumors, it is important to stop. Remember that if you keep on going back and forth with gossip it will only serve to destroy your reputation and your relationships with those who you care about. If you have tried many ways to stop, you may want to consider seeking counselling.
There are plenty of social skills and techniques that can be used to stop gossip from spreading and one of the most popular techniques is to turn the tables against those who are spreading the rumors. If you find yourself the subject of a rumour, it is important to turn it around on the other person. You can usually do this simply by denying the allegations and turning the situation back on yourself. This tactic will often work because the other person will not be able to refute your denial so they will be forced to admit their wrongdoings.
One last effective way to deal with the spread rumors is to ignore the comments entirely. Of course, you will have to be consistent in your action if you are serious about being successful here. Ignoring gossip at the root cause will certainly ensure that the rumours will not spread. Remember that by standing firm against the spreading rumors you are also likely to win the argument with the person who is trying to spread a rumour.