--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I shouldn't talk about individuals in an…" description: "\"I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at least without thinking about it better.\" — James Comey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg" --- # I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at… ![“I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at least without thinking about it better.” quote by James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg) > “I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at least without thinking about it better.” [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should refrain from discussing specific people publicly without careful consideration. **In simple terms:** Think before speaking about others publicly. Key Takeaway Practice thoughtful restraint in public discourse. Themes ethics communication responsibility Mood cautious serious Type advice ethical When to use this quote - political debate - social media - workplace meetings Key Concepts public speaking privacy Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to speak about individuals? - How can you balance transparency and privacy? A Different Perspective Over-cautiousness can stifle necessary critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forum Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forum-thinking-5335021/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Open Forum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-forum-2588731/) [Shouldn Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shouldn-talk-294784/) [Talk Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-individuals-3722407/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-better/) ## Related quotes > [I'm very hands-on. I was very hands-on with talking to individuals. That's very important, whether it be someone giving me advice or trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zaffis/i-m-very-hands-on-i-was-very-hands-on-with-talking-to-individuals/) [John Zaffis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zaffis/) > [“The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum." (Adlai E. Stevenson, 1900-1965, American Lawyer, Politician)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/the-first-principle-of-a-free-society-is-an-untrammeled-flow-of-words-2/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/the-first-principle-of-a-free-society-is-an-untrammeled-flow-of-words/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [At the universities I visit, the exclusivity of Christ is challenged in every open forum - "How can you possibly talk about one God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/at-the-universities-i-visit-the-exclusivity-of-christ-is-challenged/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [The writers' room is an open forum where anything mad or weird that aggressively shakes up the show can be suggested and considered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/the-writers-room-is-an-open-forum-where-anything-mad-or-weird-that/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [You can get bored up there on stage, night after night. But it's an open forum where you can get away with almost anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-patton/you-can-get-bored-up-there-on-stage-night-after-night-but-it-s-an/) [Mike Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-patton/) > [My set is an open forum. Anybody can comment on anything and I take all suggestions from everyone. I am not rigid. If someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoojit-sircar/my-set-is-an-open-forum-anybody-can-comment-on-anything-and-i-take/) [Shoojit Sircar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoojit-sircar/) > [If you don't think, you shouldn't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/if-you-don-t-think-you-shouldn-t-talk/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [I have no sense of what I should or shouldn't talk about. I just blather. Which is why it's fun to write 'Gossip Girl.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/i-have-no-sense-of-what-i-should-or-shouldn-t-talk-about-i-just/) [Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/) > [My interest in foreign policy is above the average voter's interest. That doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baumgartner/my-interest-in-foreign-policy-is-above-the-average-voter-s-interest/) [Michael Baumgartner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baumgartner/) > [I don't think..." then you shouldn't talk, said the Hatter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-don-t-think-then-you-shouldn-t-talk-said-the-hatter/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“You don't know what you're talking about," he says. "And you shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-barnholdt/you-don-t-know-what-you-re-talking-about-he-says-and-you-shouldn-t/) [Lauren Barnholdt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-barnholdt/) > [People who don't think shouldn't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/people-who-don-t-think-shouldn-t-talk/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Why must one talk? Often one shouldn't talk, but live in silence. The more one talks, the less the words mean. (Nana Kleinfrankenheim, Vivre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/why-must-one-talk-often-one-shouldn-t-talk-but-live-in-silence-the/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“Well that's it: if you don't think, you shouldn't talk!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/well-that-s-it-if-you-don-t-think-you-shouldn-t-talk/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) ## More by James Comey > [Really bad people around the world, because of the genius of American innovation, use our products and infrastructure for their emails, for their communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/really-bad-people-around-the-world-because-of-the-genius-of-american/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [There are two things that matter in a criminal investigation of a subject.What did the person do, and when they did that thing, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/there-are-two-things-that-matter-in-a-criminal-investigation-of-a/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [In my view, a huge portion of WikiLeaks's activities has nothing to do with legitimate newsgathering, informing the public, commenting on important public controversies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/in-my-view-a-huge-portion-of-wikileaks-s-activities-has-nothing-to-do/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [There are those who've been hacked by the Chinese and those who don't know they've been hacked by the Chinese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/there-are-those-who-ve-been-hacked-by-the-chinese-and-those-who-don-t/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her e-mails, as we did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secretary-clinton-in-2014-did-not/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The FBI also discovered several thousand work-related e-mails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton to State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-fbi-also-discovered-several-thousand-work-related-e-mails-that/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [WikiLeaks is a important focus of our attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/wikileaks-is-a-important-focus-of-our-attention/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [We did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail domain, in its various configurations since 2009, was successfully hacked. But, given the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/we-did-not-find-direct-evidence-that-secretary-clinton-s-personal-e/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [It is a little bit difficult to talk about things that do involve classified matters in public. But I think the public needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/it-is-a-little-bit-difficult-to-talk-about-things-that-do-involve/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The more able we are to keep guns out the hand so criminals and spouse abusers all - the better. So the more information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-more-able-we-are-to-keep-guns-out-the-hand-so-criminals-and/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [Secretary Hillary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department. She also used numerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/secretary-hillary-clinton-used-several-different-servers-and/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [What we want to work with manufacturers on is to figure out how can we accommodate both interests in a sensible way? How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/what-we-want-to-work-with-manufacturers-on-is-to-figure-out-how-can/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [I believe that Americans should be deeply skeptical of government power. You cannot trust people in power. The founders knew that. That's why they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-believe-that-americans-should-be-deeply-skeptical-of-government/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [In their minds, the murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn't do something evil. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/in-their-minds-the-murderers-and-accomplices-of-germany-and-poland/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [What we do is we combine information collected from any lawful source in a single FBI database so we don't miss a dot when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/what-we-do-is-we-combine-information-collected-from-any-lawful-source/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) [Explore all 37 James Comey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) ## More Individual quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Nations, like individuals, interest us in their growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/nations-like-individuals-interest-us-in-their-growth/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [The State must act as the guardian of a millennial future in the face of which the wishes and the selfishness of the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-state-must-act-as-the-guardian-of-a-millennial-future-in-the-face/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 10,654 Individual quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at least without thinking about it better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Comey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an-open-forum-at-least-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Individual" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an-open-forum-at-least-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/james-comey-17512_individual_i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an_3094406.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I shouldn't talk about individuals in an open forum, at least without thinking about it better.” — James Comey", "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": "James Comey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I shouldn't talk about individuals in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an-open-forum-at-least-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-shouldn-t-talk-about-individuals-in-an-open-forum-at-least-without/#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 } } ] } ```