28 Tips For The College Gentlemen

Written By: Brett Shoemaker

All boys will one day be men, but not all men will be gentlemen. Here are some tips I have put together from a little research as well as a little bit of my personal life.

1. Get the door. This is obvious, but time and time again I watch men fail. I don’t even really consider it to be ‘gentlemen’ like, this is a basic qualification for calling yourself a man. Open the door, every time! This includes the car door too. Also, don’t just open it for your date. It is rude to let the door slam as someone else is approaching it. Just take the extra five seconds and hand the door off to the next guy.

2. Get out of the car. I’m guilty. I have had times when I am going to pick a woman up, friend or lover, and I have sent the classic “I’m here” text message. Don’t be like me! There is something special and classy about getting out of the car and meeting her at the front door. If you are afraid you are going to catch her off guard, send her a 15-minute warning text. But,don’t make her come to you!

3. Walk them out. If you have had a party with friends over or maybe you just spent an evening with the lucky lady, don’t let them make the journey back to their car alone. It is a nice thing to do plus it will make them feel a little more comfortable, especially if it is late at night.

4. Dish out the compliments. Everyone likes compliments. Not everyone knows how to react to compliments, so they don’t appreciate the awkwardness that comes with it, but everyone loves compliments. Don’t be excessive, but be sure to let the people your with know that you appreciate something about them, even if you really have to dig to find out what that is.

5. Don’t go for the kill. This could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So I will just explain it like this, a gentlemen is patient. With whatever you are dealing with, whether it be a first date or you are out with a group of friends, a gentlemen is patient. He doesn’t try to force anything and he doesn’t have a hidden agenda that he is trying to accomplish. Just be patient.

6. Dress to impress. It isn’t necessarily go big or go home, but when you have taken time to put yourself together it shows that being with these people are important to you. I probably wear sweats and gym shorts in public more than the average human being, but when it comes to doing something fun with my friends, I always put on something nice. Whether you are taking out your lover or your mom, dress nice.

7. Hold your tongue. No one wants to hear you talk like a pig and they definitely don’t want to hear you talk about sex. Nobody is perfect and nobody expects you to be, but it is nice to hold a conversation without having to hear an F-bomb every other sentence. Clean up your vocabulary. Also, beware of those ‘undercover’ vocab killers like ‘gay, douche, or slut.’ Be cautious of what you’re saying and clean it up.

8. Stay off your phone. Guilty. When you are out with friends, learn to set the phone aside. While it is difficult for me to leave my phone in the car, I have found it effective to leave my phone facedown on the table and encourage whoever I am with to do it also. It is still there in case of an emergency, but it isn’t distracting you by blowing up your pants every 30 seconds. Nobody wants to hangout with someone who is constantly buried in their phone.

9. Be a one woman man. I feel like it is pretty obvious that you should only commit yourself to one woman at a time. But, you should also only be dating one woman at a time. I have gone on multiple first dates in a weeks period of time, but you should never be continuously dating multiple people. After the third date, you have obviously shown there is some interest and by going out with someone else the next night, whether you have defined your relationship or not, is emotionally dishonest. Just be patient, slow down, and focus on one.