If lunch conversation turns mean, change the subject. It works more often than you’d think.

Cruelty at a table needs fuel, and the fuel is everybody’s attention. A head-on challenge often makes the group dig in, because then it is about who backs down. Steering the talk elsewhere removes the oxygen without asking anyone to defend themselves, and the moment simply passes. Most people sitting there are relieved rather than annoyed.

Have two dull questions ready this week. Something about the game, a test, a show somebody is watching. Use one when the talk tips into picking at a person, especially a person who is not there.