How to Be a Gentleman Revised and Updated: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy (Gentlemanners)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. HOW TO Be a GENTLEMANA CONTEMPORARY GUIDE TO COMMON COURTESYBy JOHN BRIDGESThomas NelsonCopyright © 2012 John BridgesAll right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4016-0473-8ContentsIntroduction................................................................................1The Fundamental Things Apply: 10 Eternal Truths of the Gentlemanly Life.....................4Chapter One A Gentleman Experiences Real Life..............................................7Chapter Two A Gentleman Gets Dressed.......................................................55Chapter Three A Gentleman Goes to Dinner...................................................77Chapter Four A Gentleman Says the Right Thing..............................................95Chapter Five A Gentleman Gives a Party.....................................................121Chapter Six A Gentleman Goes to a Party....................................................137Chapter Seven A Gentleman and His Friends..................................................155Chapter Eight A Gentleman Goes to the Office...............................................179Chapter Nine A Gentleman Gets Equipped.....................................................199Chapter Ten Extreme Etiquette..............................................................209Index.......................................................................................223Chapter OneA GENTLEMAN EXPERIENCES REAL LIFE A gentleman knows how to make others feel comfortable. * * * If a gentleman has a cold, and especially if he is running a fever, he declines all social invitations. If it is possible, he even stays away from the office. * * * Even if he lives alone, a gentleman never drinks milk directly from the container. A gentleman knows that unseemly habits, although they may seem innocuous, can easily become hard, or even impossible, to break. A Gentleman and his cell phone Although cell phones have become ubiquitous in the modern world, a gentleman does his best to use his cell phone in the most unobtrusive manner possible. He knows that, while many may consider a cell phone to be a necessity, there is no reason he should be obnoxious when using one. In fact, cell phones, and even wireless headsets, have become so common that no one is likely to be impressed by the fact that a gentleman owns one. He need not flaunt his newest gadgets, no matter how expensive or cutting-edge they may be, in hopes of impressing others with his social or professional status. A gentleman who seeks to shore up his self-image by the use of gadgetry, especially among strangers, is a very needy gentleman indeed. A gentleman knows that incessant use of his cell phone can only make it clear that he values the person on the other end of the telephone conversation far more highly than the persons who are in his company. Such behavior is, at its best, ill mannered and irritating. At its worst, it grows tedious and may well lead to unpleasant confrontations with total strangers, theater ushers, train conductors, or airport security. A gentleman's telephone calls-whether they concern business or private matters-are still his personal affair. He does not force others to listen while he negotiates a real estate deal, while he makes plans for a Saturday-night outing, or while he recreates, in vivid detail, every play of the past weekend's rugby game. Other people, after all, are probably no more interested in the dealings of his day-to-day existence than he is interested in theirs. If a gentleman finds that he truly must initiate, or receive, a phone call while he is in a public place, he moves to the place where he is least likely to become a nuisance to others. He knows that it is virtually impossible to conduct a quiet cell phone conversation-especially when he is in a crowded restaurant, the aisle of a grocery store, or the lobby of a theater. If the person on the other end of the conversation ca