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I encountered this expression in various texts. For example in this book SelfBrand - The evolution: Turn yourself into an authentic brand!, I found the following:

"One selling proposition". Be specific about your branding proposal. Don't disperse yourself. After all, you've selected a specific target so you need to spread out a precise message. Otherwise, you'll confuse the ideas.

In this context, I think it is an analogous way of saying that one should not deal with too many topics. After all, to disperse means to spread over a wide area/to go in different directions by definition.

Could you tell me if that is correct? Thank you!

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    Link's not working. I wasn't sure where you wanted to send it, so I couldn't fix it.
    – Em.
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 10:00
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    In Britain, maybe elsewhere, we can say "Don't spread yourself too thin".
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 10:43
  • books.google.ru/…
    – Michael Login
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 11:12
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    Italian seems to be the native language of the author of that work. donatellarampado.com/chi-sono
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 11:43
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    Yup, author is Italian - therefore I'd call it a poor translation rather than an actual idiom in current use.
    – DoneWithThis.
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 12:10

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That is an idiosyncratic usage of the verb disperse and the sentences do not seem to have been written by a native speaker. We spread messages; we do not "spread them out". We spread out a bed sheet or a tablecloth or a picnic blanket or a large map.

When a crowd of people breaks up, and the individuals go their separate ways, the crowd is said to disperse.

The crowd of protesters in front of City Hall has dispersed.

When a balloon is popped, the air inside the balloon disperses.

The word yourself refers, it seems, to your "brand identity".

The advice is, as you have surmised, to remain focused in the brand proposal and not to touch upon diverse (self-) branding strategies.

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  • I'd like to know the reason for the downvote.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 11:39
  • So would I. I think you're quite right that the text wasn't written by a native speaker, but perhaps someone thinks making that observation is "dismissive". Apart from the fact that disperse seems completely unsuitable for the context, there are several other aspects of the text that don't look at all "natural" to me. But @Michael's Don't spread yourself too thin seems right on the money here.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 13:56

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