People whose manners / behavior I like

• I like the way the person comes off in that Delakeyz video
• Bruce Lee
  • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hv3pm
  • He's well-dressed.
  • His hair is well-groomed.
  • He looks at the person he's speaking with.
    • He looks at the person while they're speaking.
    • When it is his turn to speak:
      • he looks away for a moment while he's thinking
      • he then looks at the person while he's speaking
  • He speaks at a relaxed pace, not too quickly.
    • I should time his rate of speaking and compare it to my own.
  • He says "Yes", not "yeah".
  • He generally avoids saying "uh" and "umm" when mentally hunting for words.
  • He speaks in a straight tone.
    • He doesn't let the pitch of his voice get high.
      • Example of me doing that: "and the QUEStion you might ask is"
  • He uses pauses in his speech.
    • Example: 2:25: "A karate punch is like an iron bar–WHACK. <pause> A gung-fu punch..."
      • I actually don't understand what he's trying to convey in this quote; it doesn't make much sense to me. But I think the pause is interesting.
  • He sits with good posture, neither too uptight nor relaxed.

Others' rules of behavior

• 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation
  • This was apparently one of the texts that George Washington based his behavior on.

  • The rules have in common a focus on other people rather than the narrow focus of our own self-interests that we find so prevalent today. Fussy or not, they represent more than just manners. They are the small sacrifices that we should all be willing to make for the good of all and the sake of living together.