It has been 6 days now that Rick, a new employee, has been working in the office. He seems nice enough. You have had the chance to interact with him a bit and have even gone out of your way to be friendly. But you have noticed something a little unusual. Rick walks toward the kitchen and back a lot during the day. It is normal for people to take breaks and stretch their legs. Yet, the frequency of Rick's trips to the kitchen are distracting and, at times, annoying. This has happened since day 1. He rarely, if ever, goes to the kitchen or comes back with anything in his hands, let alone any food.

Yesterday, you were so curious about what he might be doing that you found excuses to break your routine and be where Rick appeared or where you could observe him. Whenever you saw him, he was washing his hands or using hand sanitizer. The few times he noticed you, he seemed a little sheepish. Once he said hi and made small talk.

Today, on your way to the lobby elevator, you come across Jill and Lane. You have a good relationship with both of them. They are hushed but a little animated in their conversation, which they corral you into immediately.

"Alright, so we've been talking about Rick. Nice guy. Freakishly clean though!" Lane proclaims.

"Freakishly creepy," Jill insists. "He walks past my door constantly throughout the day. If my door is open and he sees me, he gives me a weird smile. You gotta save me from this stalker!" Jill makes a movement as though a bug had just crawled down her neck.

You decide to chime in. "I've noticed his frequent trips down the hall too. I was so curious that I've been trying to find out what he's doing. He goes to the kitchen and washes his hands or uses hand sanitizer."

Jill interjects, "The washing hands thing has got to be a ruse. Nobody uses that much soap or sanitizer. Besides, have you seen his hands? They would be cracked and bleeding if he was really washing them that much."

"So, you think he gets up to walk past your door cause he's into you?" Lane chides. "He has a wedding ring. His wife works a few blocks away. What's going on is the guy is O.C.D. - he's gotta be. Big time!"

"I think he does wash his hands that much," you offer. "That's what I have seen."

"Poor wife," Jill says. "I bet he doesn't clean the kitchen as much as he cleans his hands! I wonder what other quirks she has to live with!"

"I wonder what would happen if we just 'suddenly' ran out of soap and sanitizer one day!" Lane says with proud smirk and a hint of suggesting he would try to pull such a prank.

"That would probably put him over the top! Seems like he's already run out of his meds!" Jill replies in jest.


Question:

Provide a discussion post identifying a principle of communication that would be helpful or constructive to apply in the scenario. Then, explain how you would apply it. Be specific in what you would say and why, including how your response also stays true to who you are. Justify your explanation with support from the text.