Acting On Hearsay

Recently I have had a few different encounters where someone has given me information about another person, organization or business that was negative.  Not that at times we should not warn another about a bad experience or outcome that we have had, but with my encounters they wanted me to actually take some action on it.

I was a bit surprised by their insistence, which led me to believe that they really did not fully understand what they were asking me to do.  On the other hand, maybe they did not care.  They wanted me to take what they were telling me as truth and make their opinion my own.

I am not saying that what I was being told was not true, it is just that I personally did not know it, nor had I experienced it and I was being asked to make a judgment and take a particular action upon hearsay.

How dangerous could this act be? Let’s take a look and see what might happen by acting upon hearsay.

• You are acting blindly as you have no real (true) reference to refer back to.  If you are questioned about, it and you cannot give an actual accounting from a personal experience how does that make you look to the one who is questioning you?
• You are allowing someone else to control what you should think. (How dangerous is that?)
• By acting on hearsay, you can damage another’s reputation and you personally are liable and accountable.  Would you want to do that if you really don’t know if what you are relaying is the truth?
• You are placing your own personal and professional reputation on the line with every encounter that you have, are you willing to take the risk of damaging it by acting on hearsay?

Hearsay is exactly what it is spelled out to be, you hear it and then you say it, and the most important factor is left out “personal knowledge”.

Do you want to take the risk?

08/13/14