Gentlemen

[Intrigue]

Take elocution lessons from Rosie Perez.

 

[bthegreat]

You must repeat ad infinitum "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain" I think it helps if you can sing it too. :biggrin1:

Failing that, I took elocution lessons as a kid. Maybe there are still such instructions available.

This really helped. I need more!

 

[dolfette]

This really helped. I need more!

post a voice clip.
i'm serious!
just ramble for a while.
that way we can give you an opinion on whether it's worth worrying about.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

everything Dolf said... and then some

Believe it or not, skin color is not the primary means of prejudice in America.

Its all in your speech.
Shaw's play, Pygmalion, was right on target.... it is use of language that stratifies people economically, and politically.

speaking well denotes education, refinement, intelligence, and charm.

All of them, traits a gentleman should possess.

 

[monel]

everything Dolf said... and then some

Believe it or not, skin color is not the primary means of prejudice in America.

Its all in your speech.
Shaw's play, Pygmalion, was right on target.... it is use of language that stratifies people economically, and politically.

speaking well denotes education, refinement, intelligence, and charm.

All of them, traits a gentleman should possess.

"By Jove, I think he's got it!"

 

[earllogjam]

Chew with your mouth closed.

Close the bathroom door when you're taking a dump.

Drink beer from a glass.

Take an occasional earl grey enema to get that gentlemanly inside and out feeling.

Use a handkerchief to pick your nose clean of snots.

 

[VernalTiger]

Good posture and walking style. Shoulders straight and slightly back, chin high but tucked a little, neck straight. Good posture makes your clothes look better too! Get suits tailored to fit. Take notice of your hands - when your arm are relaxed by your sides, are your thumbs facing the wider world, or hiding against your thighs? Thumbs in indicate rounded shoulders - some time with a physiotherapist or biomechanic will help to correct it. [I've just had a look at your gallery - you look like you're doing fine, but I've left this here to help others]

Speech: look into elocution DVDs or books, but the main factor is to enunciate. Dropping Gs and mumbling are habits to shake. Train yourself out of filler speech - y'know, um, err. A moment of thought before you start speaking helps you work out exactly what you're trying to express, and the best way to do it.

Read. Educate yourself. Newspapers, books, magazines, Wikipedia. Everything's available online these days anyway. If you don't understand a topic of conversation, ask for a brief synopsis. Or do some research, find out about the sophists, or gymnosperms, or doppio ristrettos or whatever it is that's come up.

Other than that? Common decency and good manners. Please, thank you, excuse me. Hold doors for both sexes. I think being a gentleman is primarily about being a good human. Work on that, and the rest will follow.

 

[shybutwhy]

bthegreat: what are you referring to by gentleman? because it seems to me that you are trying to become a butler.

The word gentleman is to a real man as the word God is to Divine Providence, understand?

A woman can opinionate on what she would like to see in a man until the cows come home, but that doesn't cut it. Although a woman's opinion on manhood is extremely important, it falls short when relied upon. Only a true gentleman can show you the ropes.

I suggest you look at the lives of other gentlemen, and try to mix in to your character the best components that each man brings to the table. No one is perfect, but if you see where others fail then you learn to succeed by doing things differently.

For example, my father used to keep a two by four by the dinner table and whenever one of us would chew with our mouths open, he would wack us over the head. Although he was a brute, the man knew table etiquette and was trying to instill it in us the only way he knew how. Now i took what i needed from him- chew with your mouth closed. My manner of handing down knowledge, however, not so much. I took that from a man who ironically chewed with his mouth open.

 

[bthegreat]

Good posture and walking style. Shoulders straight and slightly back, chin high but tucked a little, neck straight. Good posture makes your clothes look better too! Get suits tailored to fit. Take notice of your hands - when your arm are relaxed by your sides, are your thumbs facing the wider world, or hiding against your thighs? Thumbs in indicate rounded shoulders - some time with a physiotherapist or biomechanic will help to correct it. [I've just had a look at your gallery - you look like you're doing fine, but I've left this here to help others]

Speech: look into elocution DVDs or books, but the main factor is to enunciate. Dropping Gs and mumbling are habits to shake. Train yourself out of filler speech - y'know, um, err. A moment of thought before you start speaking helps you work out exactly what you're trying to express, and the best way to do it.

Read. Educate yourself. Newspapers, books, magazines, Wikipedia. Everything's available online these days anyway. If you don't understand a topic of conversation, ask for a brief synopsis. Or do some research, find out about the sophists, or gymnosperms, or doppio ristrettos or whatever it is that's come up.

Other than that? Common decency and good manners. Please, thank you, excuse me. Hold doors for both sexes. I think being a gentleman is primarily about being a good human. Work on that, and the rest will follow.

Thank!