Spreading Rumors

Learn how spreading rumors can help you advance
Over the past few months I’ve helped you develop a mean poker face, I’ve shown you how to utilize charm to get what you want and I’ve taught you how to intimidate your way to better results. Today, I’d like to offer another key skill to add to your toolbox: how to spread a nasty rumor.

Your social weaponry wouldn’t be complete without the ability to spread a devastating rumor. Whether you create one or accelerate its proliferation, spreading rumors is something that has the ability to make or break careers, destroy reputations and ultimately leave your adversary begging for mercy. Admittedly this is a rather low-handed way to get what you want, but in the world of business, where everyone knows there are no rules, it’s standard practice. Do you honestly think that most successful business tycoons get to the top by always telling the truth? Fuhgeddaboudit!

I have to stress the importance of one thing here: Once you start a rumor, you need to immediately remove yourself from the trail. You simply cannot be on-hand perpetuating the rumor or else it will become clear that you are the instigator (or at least trying to gain from it). So, here’s a 101 on spreading rumors: how to plant the bombs and reap the rewards from a safe distance. 

Use multiple platforms

Concentrate on a number of different platforms for your rumor dispersal, keeping in mind that word of mouth is not the only way to spread gossip. Strategically placed documents “accidentally” left in the photocopier, for example, make good catalysts for slander. So does casual innuendo like: “Looks like John and his secretary will be hammering the details of the contract again late tonight.” In other words, start spreading rumors without people realizing you’re spreading rumors.

Identify the “big mouths”

Every work environment has a person who is notorious for incessant gossip-mongering. Often these people can’t help themselves, so they can greatly help your cause. Once you’ve identified them, think of a way to get the information into their hands and then sit back and watch it spread like wildfire. Obviously you don’t want to approach this person directly, as they will also no doubt convey to others how they heard about the story, so you need to consider the social circles in which they move and go from there.

Utilize the “snowball effect”

Rumors have a life of their own, and they often mutate into something completely different from the original, which can be a truly amazing thing to watch. Don’t be surprised when one day at work you learn that one of your colleagues has been caught cheating on his wife, and then a few days later you find out that he’s having the affair with his 20-year-old paperboy! For this reason, you should keep the gossip simple and believable, and then count on the imagination of others to take care of the rest.

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