#50 - Saying Excuse Me

Saying "Excuse Me"

Whether you are stepping in front of someone in a store, or sneezing or burping, or trying to get another person's attention, "Excuse me" is a phrase you will need to use for the rest of your life.

It doesn't matter whether you are a young man or an old man. You are going to burp or pass gas or get the hiccoughs. You are going to have to step around other people on airplanes, at the movies, or in the bleachers at a ball game. You are going to have to interrupt someone to ask a question or ask for help. It just happens.

Saying "Excuse me" is the right thing to do, in all these situations. It doesn't matter whether you're getting in someone else's space, whether you've created an odor that smells like a dead animal, or whether you need to interrupt somebody to ask for directions. "Excuse me" is always the right thing to say.

You don't need to say, "I'm sorry," because you haven't done anything wrong -unless you have been rude and walked in front of somebody at the movies and stood there so long he or she missed half the show. That's when you need to say, "I'm sorry." But most of the time, "Excuse me" is all you need to say.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know