speak to guests or to those outside of a small
circle. They lack the confidence that good
manners bring. Knowing the rules of social
interaction and being comfortable within
them makes progressing in life so much
easier.
This doesn’t happen by accident. I know my
godchildren’s parents have taken care to
teach them how to act and I am sure this is
the case with the young man I mentioned
above. From their first moments children
learn from those around them. Everything
from how to act and behave to favourite
foods is influenced by what they are
exposed to regularly in the early years.
Manners and thoughtfulness have nothing
to do with social class or money. They are
entirely about how one has been taught, or
chooses, to behave. This isn’t formal
etiquette or knowing which knife and fork to
use for which course at dinner (Ruairidh will
teach you that as well however), this is about
taking care for those around you and
choosing to make your presence beneficial.
Not all of us are fortunate enough to be
taught this however. Some have parents
who
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didn’t know it themselves or who never
thought to pass manners on. Others had one
or both parents absent and so never received
those influential early lessons. All is not lost
however. TPG Founder Zach shows just how
much you can teach yourself if you put your
mind to it.
Many people avoid teaching or learning
manners because they think it makes them
weak or a push-over. This could not be
further from the truth. We show our respect
for ourselves in how we treat others. We
don’t allow ourselves to be taken advantage
of, but we do choose to act in a way that
brings us satisfaction by choosing to be
polite and thoughtful.
As we at The Perfect Gentleman try to show,
the way you act and the way you are
perceived is a choice. Men of any age can
learn to be Gentlemen and for some of our
younger friends this may be the only option.
We’re here to help with that of course, with
the podcast, magazine and social media
output but the impetus has to come from
within. Decide to be better, work at it and
you will be.
Junior Gentleman