Business Quote by Lord Chesterfield
“Take rather than give the tone to the company you are in. If you have parts you will show them more or less upon every subject; and if you have not, you had better talk sillily upon a subject of other people's than of your own choosing.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Letters to a Young Gentleman, 1748
Advise to speak wisely, focusing on personal expertise rather than others' domains.
In simple terms: Speak on what you know.
Key Takeaway
Share expertise, avoid idle chatter.
Themes
communication
expertise
humility
Mood
reflective
advisory
Type
philosophical
practical
When to use this quote
- professional meetings
- social gatherings
- public speaking
- online forums
Key Concepts
social etiquette
knowledge sharing
self‑awareness
Questions to Reflect On
- When should you speak outside your field?
- How to balance humility and confidence?
A Different Perspective
Advice may seem elitist in modern contexts.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)
