What do you do when someone is sharing too much personal information with you?

<p>Laura Agafitei started us off by saying in the professional space she is quick to ask, how is this related to the topic we are discussing? Conversely, personally she is more likely to create some space for the person to share is she is able to listen.</p> <p> </p> <p>Atif Agha agreed that in a professional relationship there are somethings that are better for you not to know. If someone starts oversharing, get out of the conversation if you can. If you don’t, it could make things uncomfortable going forward.</p> <p> </p> <p>Todd Karges took the conversation in an interesting direction when he talked about how there is a push that people “bring their whole-selves” to work. But people aren’t really trained to do that. We are trained to bring only our best selves.</p> <p> </p> <p>But when someone is sharing a lot of personal information, he likes to acknowledge that it is happening and give the person a chance to realize that maybe he’s not the right person to tell. But if they continue and he is uncomfortable, then he has to say that he would rather not hear it.</p> <p> </p> <p>When I’m talking to people (other than clients) I consider if they will be embarrassed or if it will be awkward for them/us later for me to know what they are telling me. If so, I try to change to topic of the conversation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Do you have a suggestion on how to address someone sharing too much personal information without embarrassing them?</p> <p> </p> <p>Connect with the panelists: Todd Karges: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddkarges/</p> <p>Has a background in project management and building agile development mindsets.  He is a transformation and change management practitioner and a leadership development coach. Based outside of Toronto.</p> <p> </p> <p>Atif Agha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atifagha/</p> <p>Technology specialist doing data analytics and avid runner, based in Chicago</p> <p> </p> <p>Laura Agafitei: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-agafitei/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-agafitei/</a></p> <p>S