--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Watching people behave is nothing…" description: "\"“Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them trying to behave is always fascinating.”\" — Alan Bennett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg" --- # Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them… ![“Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them trying to behave is always fascinating.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg) > ““Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them trying to behave is always fascinating.”” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing people trying to act proper is more intriguing than watching natural behavior. **In simple terms:** Trying to behave is fascinating. Key Takeaway Notice authenticity. Themes behavior authenticity observation Mood curious analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - workplace dynamics - family events Key Concepts social psychology performance Questions to Reflect On - Why do we judge attempts to behave? - What does this reveal about society? A Different Perspective People may hide true selves. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behave Fascinating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave-fascinating-2379900/) [People Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-behave/) [Special Watching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-watching-2379902/) [Trying Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-behave-2379901/) [Watching People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-people/) ## Related quotes > [“They all have excellent resumes... So what I’m trying to find out is how they will behave under pressure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-g-rickover/they-all-have-excellent-resumes-so-what-i-m-trying-to-find-out-is-how/) [Hyman G. Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-g-rickover/) > [There is nothing as special as watching greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-astin/there-is-nothing-as-special-as-watching-greatness/) [Sean Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-astin/) > [I think behind closed doors people behave differently no matter what period we're looking at, because people have to stand up straight in public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-blethyn/i-think-behind-closed-doors-people-behave-differently-no-matter-what/) [Brenda Blethyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-blethyn/) > [“I am sure you have come across older people who behave like children. They want everything, whine for attention, bitch about the smallest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saidi-mdala/i-am-sure-you-have-come-across-older-people-who-behave-like-children/) [Saidi Mdala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saidi-mdala/) > [I am struck by the way people behave on the Tube. They look at each other beadily and inquisitively, and something goes on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/i-am-struck-by-the-way-people-behave-on-the-tube-they-look-at-each/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“findings suggest that by six months of age, infants are watching how people behave toward other people, and they are developing a preference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/findings-suggest-that-by-six-months-of-age-infants-are-watching-how/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“Many times you cannot control the actual circumstances of your life and how people behave around you, but you can control your own reactions. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatyana-williams/many-times-you-cannot-control-the-actual-circumstances-of-your-life/) [Tatyana Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatyana-williams/) > [I've always been interested in why do people behave in certain ways which are crazy from a normal point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayani-gupta/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-why-do-people-behave-in-certain-ways/) [Sayani Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayani-gupta/) > [The pressure to conform to an authority figure or peer group can cause people to behave in shocking ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lofgren/the-pressure-to-conform-to-an-authority-figure-or-peer-group-can/) [Mike Lofgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lofgren/) > [I think any time people behave in a way that's truly them, then they'll never fail. You get in trouble when you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-think-any-time-people-behave-in-a-way-that-s-truly-them-then-they/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [People who behave rarely make history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-linkner/people-who-behave-rarely-make-history/) [Josh Linkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-linkner/) > [Markets do very weird things because it reacts to how people behave, and sometimes people are a little screwy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/markets-do-very-weird-things-because-it-reacts-to-how-people-behave/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I can't judge the way other people behave. I can only look at myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/i-can-t-judge-the-way-other-people-behave-i-can-only-look-at-myself/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [You know, class is like magic. There's nothing there you can point to, it evaporates if you try to analyse it, but it's real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/you-know-class-is-like-magic-there-s-nothing-there-you-can-point-to/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“Some people behave as though they are having an allergic reaction to feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/some-people-behave-as-though-they-are-having-an-allergic-reaction-to/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-not-good-at-precise-coherent-argument-but-plays-are-suited-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More People Behave quotes > [“Some people behave as though they are having an allergic reaction to feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/some-people-behave-as-though-they-are-having-an-allergic-reaction-to/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [You know, class is like magic. There's nothing there you can point to, it evaporates if you try to analyse it, but it's real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/you-know-class-is-like-magic-there-s-nothing-there-you-can-point-to/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [I can't judge the way other people behave. I can only look at myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/i-can-t-judge-the-way-other-people-behave-i-can-only-look-at-myself/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [Markets do very weird things because it reacts to how people behave, and sometimes people are a little screwy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/markets-do-very-weird-things-because-it-reacts-to-how-people-behave/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [People who behave rarely make history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-linkner/people-who-behave-rarely-make-history/) [Josh Linkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-linkner/) > [I think any time people behave in a way that's truly them, then they'll never fail. You get in trouble when you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-think-any-time-people-behave-in-a-way-that-s-truly-them-then-they/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [The pressure to conform to an authority figure or peer group can cause people to behave in shocking ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lofgren/the-pressure-to-conform-to-an-authority-figure-or-peer-group-can/) [Mike Lofgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lofgren/) > [I've always been interested in why do people behave in certain ways which are crazy from a normal point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayani-gupta/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-why-do-people-behave-in-certain-ways/) [Sayani Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayani-gupta/) > [“Many times you cannot control the actual circumstances of your life and how people behave around you, but you can control your own reactions. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatyana-williams/many-times-you-cannot-control-the-actual-circumstances-of-your-life/) [Tatyana Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatyana-williams/) > [“findings suggest that by six months of age, infants are watching how people behave toward other people, and they are developing a preference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/findings-suggest-that-by-six-months-of-age-infants-are-watching-how/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [I am struck by the way people behave on the Tube. They look at each other beadily and inquisitively, and something goes on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/i-am-struck-by-the-way-people-behave-on-the-tube-they-look-at-each/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“I am sure you have come across older people who behave like children. They want everything, whine for attention, bitch about the smallest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saidi-mdala/i-am-sure-you-have-come-across-older-people-who-behave-like-children/) [Saidi Mdala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saidi-mdala/) > [I think behind closed doors people behave differently no matter what period we're looking at, because people have to stand up straight in public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-blethyn/i-think-behind-closed-doors-people-behave-differently-no-matter-what/) [Brenda Blethyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-blethyn/) > [The best definition of the word culture (workplaces included) that I've heard is that it's how people behave when nobody is watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyn-morgan/the-best-definition-of-the-word-culture-workplaces-included-that-i-ve/) [Gwyn Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyn-morgan/) > [People behave differently to TV stars and film stars; it's to do with the scale of the medium. Film stars get hushed awe, TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hollander/people-behave-differently-to-tv-stars-and-film-stars-it-s-to-do-with/) [Tom Hollander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hollander/) [Browse all 47 People Behave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-behave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them trying to behave is always fascinating.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/watching-people-behave-is-nothing-special-watching-them-trying-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People Behave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/watching-people-behave-is-nothing-special-watching-them-trying-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/alan-bennett-1922_quote_watching-people-behave-is-nothing-specia_1845004.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Watching people behave is nothing special; watching them trying to behave is always fascinating.” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Watching people behave is nothing special;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/watching-people-behave-is-nothing-special-watching-them-trying-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/watching-people-behave-is-nothing-special-watching-them-trying-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```