Class is not about knowing which fork to use. It is about being the kind of person others are glad to be in the room with.
For years my wife Kimberley and I taught the class, How to Be Classy, In Spite of Yourself, in continuing education centers, corporate conference rooms, hotel ballrooms, and to non-profit organizations. Those who attended were not told what they were doing wrong, but learned how it's often the small things that compound over a career and lifetime that truly make the difference in so many extraordinary ways.
Kimberley was the finest teacher of these principles I have ever seen. Not because she had studied them, but because she lived them — every day, in every detail, with every person she encountered. She passed away in May 2025. This book is, in the deepest sense, hers.
How to Be Classy, In Spite of Yourself is the course we taught, fully realized on the page. It is organized around three dimensions of every human encounter — Appearance, Communication, and Behavior. Each section moves from principle to practice, with self-assessment pages throughout so the work is yours and in your own words.
But don't misunderstand by thinking this is just another "etiquette book" — it's not. Etiquette defines rules, but How to Be Classy defines values — those qualities that can bring confidence, happiness, and more joy to life.
How you present yourself before you say a word. The first impression that registers in the half-second before anyone speaks.
How you speak, write, and listen. The voice and words that shape every conversation you enter.
How you conduct yourself across time. The habits, choices, and small acts that define who you really are.
This book is for anyone who knows they're capable of more, but not quite sure how to achieve it. With the careful guidance of Kimberley and Stephen's words and questions, you'll quickly see how easy it may be to really make the changes you've been contemplating.
The book is paired with a library of printable companion worksheets — a quiet digital workbook you can use alongside the book itself, accessed with the code included in your Kindle or paperback edition.
While the world is constantly in flux around each of us, there are, and always will be, underlying constants. This book addresses all of it, because genuine Class requires fluency wherever people encounter one another.
The principle never changes. The standard you hold for yourself when no one is watching. The small things done consistently that create the overall impression. A person with genuine Class stands out in any era. That is precisely what we want to share with you in this book.