--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moment a man begins to talk about…" description: "\"The moment a man begins to talk about technique that's proof that he is fresh out of ideas.\" — Raymond Chandler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/raymond-chandler-629_proof_the-moment-a-man-begins-to-talk-about-te_1907743.jpg" --- # The moment a man begins to talk about technique that's… ![“The moment a man begins to talk about technique that's proof that he is fresh out of ideas.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/raymond-chandler-629_proof_the-moment-a-man-begins-to-talk-about-te_1907743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/raymond-chandler-629_proof_the-moment-a-man-begins-to-talk-about-te_1907743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/raymond-chandler-629_proof_the-moment-a-man-begins-to-talk-about-te_1907743.jpg) > “The moment a man begins to talk about technique that's proof that he is fresh out of ideas.” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When a speaker focuses on technique, it signals a lack of original ideas and reliance on formula. **In simple terms:** Techniques reveal creative emptiness. Key Takeaway Prioritize genuine insight over formulaic methods. Themes creativity authenticity communication Mood cynical analytical Type literary advice When to use this quote - author workshops - creative writing - public speaking Key Concepts writing technique idea generation originality Questions to Reflect On - Are you using technique as a crutch? - What fresh perspectives can you bring? A Different Perspective Overreliance on method can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fresh ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fresh-ideas/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It's easier and sociabler to talk technique than it is to make art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/it-s-easier-and-sociabler-to-talk-technique-than-it-is-to-make-art/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [I could talk about technique, theory and gear for days!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/i-could-talk-about-technique-theory-and-gear-for-days/) [John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/) > [“I believe...that to be very poor and very beautiful is most probably a moral failure more than an artistic success. Shakespeare would have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-believe-that-to-be-very-poor-and-very-beautiful-is-most-probably-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [I think a man becomes less than a man when he begins to compromise on what he believes is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-singletary/i-think-a-man-becomes-less-than-a-man-when-he-begins-to-compromise-on/) [Mike Singletary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-singletary/) > [“A man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex; it goes without saying that he is a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/a-man-never-begins-by-presenting-himself-as-an-individual-of-a/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The pipe marks the point at which the orangutan ends and man begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-pipe-marks-the-point-at-which-the-orangutan-ends-and-man-begins/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“there are those who say it does not matter how a man begins, but only how he ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/there-are-those-who-say-it-does-not-matter-how-a-man-begins-but-only/) [George R.R. 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The point where man begins to find that he exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viorel-muha-august-2012/reason-the-point-where-man-begins-to-find-that-he-exists/) Viorel Muha August 2012 > [A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/a-man-begins-cutting-his-wisdom-teeth-the-first-time-he-bites-off/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Man first begins to philosophize when the necessities of life are supplied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/man-first-begins-to-philosophize-when-the-necessities-of-life-are/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Until a man begins to read, then He will discover himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/until-a-man-begins-to-read-then-he-will-discover-himself/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Directly a man begins to say "Yes" without the question "Why?" he becomes a dogmatist, a potential, if not an actual liar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/directly-a-man-begins-to-say-yes-without-the-question-why-he-becomes/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [When a young man begins to go down hill everything seems to be greased for the occasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/when-a-young-man-begins-to-go-down-hill-everything-seems-to-be/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [>The struggle of man begins at birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-proverb/the-struggle-of-man-begins-at-birth/) African Proverb > [“When a man begins to do that which is assigned to him, it becomes as if he is more endowed and favoured than his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/when-a-man-begins-to-do-that-which-is-assigned-to-him-it-becomes-as/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... 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Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Fresh ideas quotes > [... what we should be looking for is fresh ideas of how we make moral decisions about our dealings with one another, economic, social,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-mccaughey/what-we-should-be-looking-for-is-fresh-ideas-of-how-we-make-moral/) Davis McCaughey > [Start a painting with fresh ideas, and then let the painting replace your ideas with its ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/start-a-painting-with-fresh-ideas-and-then-let-the-painting-replace/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Institutional memory is important in any organization, but so are fresh ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/institutional-memory-is-important-in-any-organization-but-so-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a good meeting there is a momentum that comes from the spontaneous exchange of fresh ideas and produces extraordinary results. 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Blight > [ Some people don't understand that but it's nice when it really just gets to the point then that it \[music\] doesn't get played so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-ray-vaughan/some-people-don-t-understand-that-but-it-s-nice-when-it-really-just/) [Stevie Ray Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-ray-vaughan/) > [I'm not one for conventional wisdom. I founded my label in 1998, but after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, my Japanese backers pulled out, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cornejo/i-m-not-one-for-conventional-wisdom-i-founded-my-label-in-1998-but/) [Maria Cornejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-cornejo/) > [A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/a-fresh-mind-keeps-the-body-fresh-take-in-the-ideas-of-the-day-drain-2/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [It's important to have people who are absolutely willing to say you're wrong or who have a totally different perspective than you do on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/it-s-important-to-have-people-who-are-absolutely-willing-to-say-you/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives. t](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-important-part-is-keeping-an-open-mind-and-searching-for-fresh/) Senoraroy > [Almost without exception, members of great groups see themselves as winning underdogs, as a feisty David hurling fresh ideas at a big, backward-looking Goliath.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/almost-without-exception-members-of-great-groups-see-themselves-as/) [Warren G. 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