As little girls we watched the fairy tales were there are two distinctions between princesses - those whom are born princesses and those who become princesses. If you were not born up in a Royal Kingdom and did not have parents who oversaw your education in this department then there are a few basic principles in becoming a princess.

It is vital to understand that anyone can be a Princess. It is in her mannerisms that make her a Princess rather then the manner in which she lives (castle, servants, etc). So what are the basics?

1. Natural beauty holds the beholder. Using too much make-up and masking your face with all sorts of cosmetic products doesn’t really hold much for a Princess. Compliment your beauty rather than destroy it.
2. Always show kindness to everyone.
3. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
4. Have excellent manners. Don’t talk with your mouth open, shake people hands, let an old women sit down on the seat you’ve got - things like that. Every small thing counts.
5. Continually smile. Smiling makes the people around you feel good and that’s one of the duties of a princess.
6. Be confident. You must be able to talk to people who approach you. It’s important to interact with people and socialize.

Now you might be wondering - this is a silly article. Yes, it’ not possible to become an actual Princess, with the title and everything in hand. But that’s not what it’s about. Every woman and girl can become one. Either by the way they’re treated or the way they act - you’ve got to decide if you want to be ordinary or extraordinary.

In this clip of My Fair Lady it approaches a few things I’d like to or have discussed with you, in my last post “Does the way you talk influence people’s perceptions of you?” I said that the way you talk, gives people a certain opinion of you. In this clip you can clearly see that everyone looks down at Eliza for talking poorly.

But what does it matter if you can talk properly if you cannot listen? Eliza doesn’t listen properly to Higgins as he exclaims that her offer is equivalent to a millionaire who would offer him sixty pounds. So what are the tricks and tips to listening properly? I’ve got them right here:

1. Don’t get distracted. If you’re listening to someone make sure you do not get distracted. Apart from it being extremely rude staring at some faraway object, it also gives a bad impression of you. Highbrow people listen.
2. Be interested. You can listen to someone and still look uninterested. Take part in the conversation. Ask them questions, make them believe that what they’re saying is something you’ve never heard before with so much enthusiasm.
3. Don’t interrupt the speaker. While you should always show an interest, don’t disturb the speaker half way through their sentence. Show respect before you add your input into the conversation!
4. Use body language. Your body language can show what you’re feeling, so if this is a rather important person and you do not agree with what they are saying - show it in a positive manner rather then a negative one. Do not curl up your fists in anger. Always be aware of the impression you are giving the other person.

These four tips, if used properly, can extend your ability to communicate with people. Being highbrow means to have the ability to communicate with everyone, no matter what class they are. Learning how to listen also gives you the chance to assess situations quicker then before.

Paying attention is the key to success. Listening is one of the steps you need to further yourself.

Yes, yes and yes.

If I were to say, “Yo motha-f$%ker” every time I greeted you - your perception of me would be negative. The way you talk influences the people around you. If every second word out of your mouth is a swear word, people will begin to think of you as lower class. Rich people can be lower class, if that’s what you’re thinking. You want to be highbrow. Someone of superior learning and culture. Just because someone is rich doesn’t make then high class. You need to deserve that right.

If you’ve watched the olden day version of My Fair Lady, adapted from the play Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, then you would see how Mr. Higgens transformed a simple flower girl to be thought of as a foreign princess. He thought her how to act, dress, and most importantly talk and that changed the way people treated her. From showing her disgust to treating her as delicately as a flower.

So the way you talk might potentially be hurting your personal profile or improving it.

A few tips to help you speak properly.

1. Don’t swear.

2. Don’t drop your h’s. ” ‘ave a good day”

3. Always say please and thank you (basic good manners)

4. Pronounce your words properly. Any basic online website dictionary has the correct pronunciation for each word.

5. Use proper sentence structure. “It’s not them books but those books.“

6. Don’t use colloquial language. Formal language is so much more pleasant to hear. ‘Howdy’ or ‘Heya’ isn’t formal, “How are you” would be the proper term for it.

7. Increase your vocabulary. Make a point to learn a new word every day (we’ll be starting this shortly so you can just keep on checking back to this blog)!

8. Don’t talk about sex or religion unless someone else starts the discussion first. You might make other people feel rather uncomfortable if you approach the subject without their prior consent.

9. If you have nothing smart to say. Rather say nothing. Silence is golden.

If you have any other tips on how to speak properly, please feel free to share them, also, subscribe to our RSS feed or through email so you can keep up to date with the blog - we have exciting articles coming your way.

It often happens that without strict guidance by the parents or someone close to a child, a fondness for reading is not often created. But Mortimer J. Adler one said, “Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life. ” and that still holds truth today. I remember going to Europe two years ago, my mother being an English Professor my reading had extended beyond what most people can boast about and in amongst the highly educated people, I felt as though I had not read enough. I had from a young age read Tolstoy, Austen, Dickens - and yet that wasn’t enough to them. They spoke of famous Russian authors, French authors - authors I had not heard of.

It just shows that those who are truly highbrow take the time to read. Not because they have to but because it is a pleasure for them. Enriching their minds with more knowledge, more words, more stories - makes them a more qualified person.

We must therefore constantly strive to read more. Through reading we learn. If you have never picked up a book longer then 100 pages then this is the area in your life you need to improve on. Through reading (good books) you will find many situations that will help you in various aspects of your life. Being able to discuss a literary book with someone can create a connection that no other will.

So we’ve decided to give you a minimum reading list. We suggest that these books are bought (or taken out of the library) and read and during the months we’ll discuss the books with you, talking and making sense of all of these books, if you will.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Jane Eyre , Charlotte Brontë

Wuthering Heights , Emily Brontë

David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

Anna Karenina (Oprah’s Book Club), Leo Tolstoy

And this is the minimum reading list, as we go on we’ll be giving a more advanced list of books that should have been read, what books can be read but not be accounted on for good literature. Please keep checking back to see us unravel these masterpieces!

For those of you who claim you cannot read because you cannot afford to buy the books - that is never an excuse. A few on the list are available (for free) at Project Gutenberg and if they are not, for a small fee you can borrow them from your library.

People do not generally date out of their class. It’s a simple matter of logic. And if they do it is generally looked down upon by their parents, family and peers. A perfect example would be Pride and Prejudice (in our Minimum Reading List) when Lady Catherine Debourgh is mortified when Mr. Darcy decides to take Elizabeth Bennet as his wife.

If you have neither money nor an actual education behind your name it might be difficult to be accepted in higher society. So the next best step is to go - online dating! A few reason for online dating is:

1. You have a chance for the person to fall in love with the real person before getting to know the nitty gritty of your situation.
2. If you’re not able to afford living a lavish lifestyle to catch a beau then online dating is an economical way of meeting highbrow people.
3. It’s generally free or highly affordable, quick and easy to use!

Our suggested dating sites:

1. www.Millionaremate.com

   Two of the prerequisites for this site is beauty and wealth but they also (as they rightly should) place an emphasis on sophistication. Without sophistication, a sense of grace an elegance all is lost. (Read our post on how to be more sophisticated.) There is a wealth verification system in place for men.

2. www.Intelligentpeople.com

   Intelligentpeople.com is a website that caters for only those with a high IQ - in order to be ‘admitted’ into the Dating Network, you first need to pass an IQ test of 18 questions. Each question allows you one minute to answer. If you fail the first time, you have a chance to redo the test for a second time.

3. www.goodgenes.com

   A website dedicated to graduates from IVY League Universities, a place where people with good genes can get to together. This site needs proof of your degree, so there is no way getting around this one.

Well, what are you waiting for? One of the first steps to becoming highbrow is having a cultured spouse - go find one on one of these sites!

In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, they define highbrow as:

a person who possesses or has pretensions to superior learning or culture

Superior learning can be anything from a refined education (but that does not mean those of you whom are not educated do not have a chance to become highbrow) to having certain type of style, proper etiquette, adequate knowledge on political and world views, a deep interest in art, literature and other areas of culture.

At acthighbrow.com we’ll teach you to become sophisticated, elegant and mostly - acceptable to those whom have had these things their entire lives. Let us become part of your lives by teaching that acting a certain way elevates you in the standards of society.

After all - not all of us can act like Paris Hilton and get away with it.