--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing you should know about…" description: "\"The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them.\" — Charles Cumming" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png" --- # The first thing you should know about people is that you… ![“The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them.” quote by Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png) > “The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them.” [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often assume we understand others, but true knowledge of a person requires deeper observation and humility. **In simple terms:** We rarely truly know people at first glance. Key Takeaway Practice listening and observing before judging. Themes humility perception relationships Mood curious reflective Type observational advice When to use this quote - first meetings - team building - conflict resolution - networking Key Concepts psychology social cognition Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about strangers? - How can you verify your impressions? A Different Perspective Assumptions can lead to misinterpretation and bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [To know one thing, you must know the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/to-know-one-thing-you-must-know-the-opposite/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [As you know, the thing that I know the least about is the topic of sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/as-you-know-the-thing-that-i-know-the-least-about-is-the-topic-of/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Don't act like you know me when the only thing you know about me is my name and the only thing I know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mielya-saladdin/don-t-act-like-you-know-me-when-the-only-thing-you-know-about-me-is/) [Mielya Saladdin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mielya-saladdin/) > [“Why know the name of a thing when the thing itself you do not know? 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Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Cumming" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-people-is-that-you-don-t-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firsts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-people-is-that-you-don-t-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/charles-cumming-39994_firsts_the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-pe_1270689.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them.” — Charles Cumming", "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": "Charles Cumming", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The first thing you should know...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-people-is-that-you-don-t-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/the-first-thing-you-should-know-about-people-is-that-you-don-t-know/#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 } } ] } ```