Rules of Life, The, 4th Edition

RULE 45

Maintain good manners in all things

In her wonderful book Watching the English,^* Kate Fox observes that in any small transaction, like buying a newspaper, there will be around three pleases and two thank-yous – and that’s a minimum. Yes, the English (and a few other nationalities besides) are terribly polite but what’s wrong with that? We have to interact with a whole host of people every day and a little politeness has to be a good thing. The Rules Player maintains good manners in all things. And if you don’t know what good manners are, then we are in trouble.

You’re probably thinking that you have good manners already. Most of us believe we do. However, the more you hurry and the more stress you are under, the more manners are likely ...