151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People

93Keeping Delicate Phone Talks Private

I once worked next to a guy with a host of medical problems. He frequently conferred with his doctors. One day he hit a medical trifecta. He spoke with his cardiologist, proctologist, and internist. Because the man didn’t moderate his voice I caught an awful case of TMI—Too Much Information.

Assignment

Compare notes with colleagues about how they’ve handled indiscreet phone callers.

He talked about very private matters as if he were discussing the weather. And the indiscretions overwhelmed me. At times I simply had to walk away. Or I would use the time during his consultations to go for coffee or stop by a friend’s cubicle. At other times I put on earplugs and cranked up the music. While those methods ...