--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gossip. The more you talk about why…" description: "\"Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the more ideas you have about how the world works.\" — Jane Smiley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/jane-smiley-2120_gossip_gossip-the-more-you-talk-about-why-peopl_531837.png" --- # Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the… ![“Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the more ideas you have about how the world works.” quote by Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/jane-smiley-2120_gossip_gossip-the-more-you-talk-about-why-peopl_531837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/jane-smiley-2120_gossip_gossip-the-more-you-talk-about-why-peopl_531837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/jane-smiley-2120_gossip_gossip-the-more-you-talk-about-why-peopl_531837.png) > “Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the more ideas you have about how the world works.” [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing others' motives expands our mental models of society. **In simple terms:** Thinking about why people act reveals patterns. Key Takeaway Use curiosity to understand behavior. Themes psychology observation social insight Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflective insightful When to use this quote - team meetings - conflict resolution - leadership - media analysis Key Concepts cognitive bias theory of mind Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others' actions? - How can you verify your interpretations? A Different Perspective Assuming motives can lead to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Gossip Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip-talk-4465356/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-things-273138/) [Talk People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-people-278459/) [Things Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-ideas-791516/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Always remember that some people will gossip and talk about you because when they talk about themselves... no one cares.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-mhr/always-remember-that-some-people-will-gossip-and-talk-about-you/) [Jazz Mhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-mhr/) > [“When people don't gossip or talk about you, you are not making waves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/when-people-don-t-gossip-or-talk-about-you-you-are-not-making-waves/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [If you talk about yourself, he'll think you're boring. If you talk about others, he'll think you're a gossip. If you talk about him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sunshine/if-you-talk-about-yourself-he-ll-think-you-re-boring-if-you-talk/) [Linda Sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sunshine/) > [I really like to talk to people and to get their take on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/i-really-like-to-talk-to-people-and-to-get-their-take-on-things/) [Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/) > [I don't really like to talk about other people. I think people who have things going on in their lives, I think they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-breslin/i-don-t-really-like-to-talk-about-other-people-i-think-people-who/) [Abigail Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-breslin/) > [“This is the way things work sometimes, that good things get ideas from each other, say, well now let’s go ahead and let her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/this-is-the-way-things-work-sometimes-that-good-things-get-ideas-from/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Ideas, unlike solid structures, do not perish. They remain immortal, immaterial and everywhere, like all Divine things. Ideas are a golden, savage landscape that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/ideas-unlike-solid-structures-do-not-perish-they-remain-immortal/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The simplest things give me ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/the-simplest-things-give-me-ideas/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [I have some ideas for things nobody's done before, and some are ideas bigger than me that I might be able to pull off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/i-have-some-ideas-for-things-nobody-s-done-before-and-some-are-ideas/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) > [Actually, 'Wayne's World 2' I kind of liked. I think 'Wayne's World 2' does have some creative things in it, some ideas in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/actually-wayne-s-world-2-i-kind-of-liked-i-think-wayne-s-world-2-does/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [When you talk about other people its gist, but when others talk about you is gossip, then you have to check your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olubayo-adebiyi/when-you-talk-about-other-people-its-gist-but-when-others-talk-about/) [Olubayo Adebiyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olubayo-adebiyi/) > [“Talk for people and not about them. Unless you have love in your heart, refrain from discussing another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/talk-for-people-and-not-about-them-unless-you-have-love-in-your-heart/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [“Gossip: “The unsanctioned evaluative talk about people who aren’t present”, as defined by Timothy Hallett, associate professor in the Indiana University Sociology Department.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallett/gossip-the-unsanctioned-evaluative-talk-about-people-who-aren-t/) [Timothy Hallett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallett/) > [“Nosy people find out things they’d rather not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-jefferies/nosy-people-find-out-things-they-d-rather-not-know/) [Dinah Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-jefferies/) > [“Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/powerful-people-sometimes-do-things-to-help-people-like-me-without/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## More by Jane Smiley > [Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/some-novelists-are-luckier-than-others-in-the-eras-of-their-formative/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [How will you know a good farmer when you meet him? He will not ask you for any favors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/how-will-you-know-a-good-farmer-when-you-meet-him-he-will-not-ask-you/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/you-know-what-getting-married-is-it-s-agreeing-to-taking-this-person/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/every-first-draft-is-perfect-because-all-a-first-draft-has-to-do-is/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“We watched the swimmers and sunbathers and I thought about this. Had I faced all the facts? It seemed like I had, but actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/we-watched-the-swimmers-and-sunbathers-and-i-thought-about-this-had-i/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“They throw themselves on the waters of the world, and they know they will be borne up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/they-throw-themselves-on-the-waters-of-the-world-and-they-know-they/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [everything is toxic. That's the point. You can't avoid toxins. Thinking you can is just another symptom of the toxic overload stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/everything-is-toxic-that-s-the-point-you-can-t-avoid-toxins-thinking/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Shame is a distinct feeling. I couldn’t look at my hands around the coffee cup or hear my own laments without feeling appalled, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/shame-is-a-distinct-feeling-i-couldn-t-look-at-my-hands-around-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/horse-racing-is-really-much-more-intimidating-than-anything-having-to/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/had-i-faced-all-the-facts-it-seemed-like-i-had-but-actually-you-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/a-theory-of-creativity-is-actually-just-a-metaphor-a-pool-of-ideas-a/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There are hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States and in other countries, too. Wright lived into his 90s, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-are-hundreds-of-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-around-the-united/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Explore all 185 Jane Smiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## More Gossip quotes > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“She was the goddess of gossip and rumor, not the goddess of thoroughly fact-checked information. Some people, Principal Zeus included, didn't seem to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/she-was-the-goddess-of-gossip-and-rumor-not-the-goddess-of-thoroughly/) [Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [My back is not a voicemail. Say it to my face bitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/my-back-is-not-a-voicemail-say-it-to-my-face-bitch/) [Superman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/superman/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Destroy gossip by ignoring it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/destroy-gossip-by-ignoring-it/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) > [My mum, Olwen, was a bright and talkative woman who loved a gossip and a story and was given slightly to malapropisms. And she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/my-mum-olwen-was-a-bright-and-talkative-woman-who-loved-a-gossip-and/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [I went straight from high school to 'Gossip Girl,' and both were very structured, scheduled environments, so I never had freedom to explore and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/i-went-straight-from-high-school-to-gossip-girl-and-both-were-very/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [“A session of boasting won't attract any real friends.  It will set you up on a pedestal, however, making you a clearer target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-session-of-boasting-won-t-attract-any-real-friends-it-will-set-you/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Don't give me truth, just give me gossip And skeletons from people's closets, I wanna be normal And millions buy it, I am blinded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-zephaniah/don-t-give-me-truth-just-give-me-gossip-and-skeletons-from-people-s/) [Benjamin Zephaniah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-zephaniah/) > [“Slander does to a soul what cancer does to a cell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/slander-does-to-a-soul-what-cancer-does-to-a-cell/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Gossip is just drama, waiting to start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/gossip-is-just-drama-waiting-to-start/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) [Browse all 1,468 Gossip quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gossip. 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