You have a lot to say and are enthusiastic about what you have to say, yet you’re lacking one key ingredient – no one can understand you because you mumble. You may mumble and not even be aware of it – although a good indicator is when people are always asking you to repeat yourself because they didn’t hear or understand what you said.

If there was one question that I knew would immediately infuriate many of my teachers and professors, it was this one. There were always people that missed class, would ask this same question (even though the instructor blew up at the last person that carelessly asked it) and get an earful. And rightfully so - it implies that it’s possible that nothing was missed which translates to the class or meeting is a waste of time. Even if that’s the case, it’s still impolite.

Do as I say, not as I do. It seems like everyone is guru these days yet many of these folks don’t follow their own advice. For example: the Facebook guru that tells people to “always include a personal message when adding someone as a friend” yet rarely does that herself. One of my biggest frustrations which many so-called speaking experts is that they tell people that they should do things when giving a speech, yet they clearly don’t follow these rules themselves when they’re “teaching” this advice.

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and do things differently? Sure, most of us do. I recently came across a cereal box that had list on the back of “18 things to do before you turn 18.” This list got me thinking for two reasons. First, most of the suggestions (bungee jumping, create a new word, go backstage at concert) were useless in terms of helping people get the most out of life at that age. Second, I thought about what I would tell myself if I could go back in time.

Have you ever misspoken, only to have someone correct you right away? Are you thankful that the person cared enough to point out your error to everyone within earshot? Some people just can’t resist pointing out other people’s errors, regardless of who’s present and how minuscule the error is.

I once knew someone that would jump at the chance to correct everyone at every chance he could. From grammatical errors to pronunciation mistakes to misspellings in email messages, this guy couldn’t resist adding his two cents and showing everyone how smart he was and how dumb everyone else was. How did people like this person? They hated him.

“How to Be a Gentleman: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy” is a quick read about etiquette for men. The book had caught my eye several times before I finally picked it up and gave it a read. I’m glad I did, as it’s an excellent resource on interpersonal behavior, courtesy and how to properly treat others. And although the book is geared primarily towards men, some women may find some of the advice useful as well (being courteous to others is gender neutral).

Some of the highlights of the book include:

• Advice about when to write a thank you note.

Have you ever been accused of over communicating? Many of us tend to add in more details than necessary when we communicate. Hence the term “TMI,” an acronym for “too much information.” So let’s look at over communication in a bit more detail.

What is over communication:

Over communication occurs when we provide irrelevant information or get too deep in to details when we communicate. For example, if someone you barely know asks how you’re doing, an over communicated answer would be: