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The Gentleman’s Edge
Build confidence and presence for powerful first impressions — personal, business, and social.
If you've read my story, you know I did not start out anything like the man on the cover. This book is the map I built, chapter by chapter, to put those limitations in the rear view mirror — and how to do the same for yourself.
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Whether you're 20% of the way to where you'd like to be or 80%, The Gentleman's Edge can help you reach the goals for the life you want.
Seen and read by tens of millions. Covered by media worldwide.
Decades of established science show us that every person you meet forms an impression of you—often before you say a word. The Gentleman's Edge explores how those impressions form and, more importantly, how you can put that knowledge to work in your own life. It provides practical tools to help you influence the way the world sees—and responds to—you.
A Sample, from the Introduction
My introduction to the power of positive first impressions began with a popular film and a night in one of Atlanta’s hottest bars. I had no idea at the time that those experiences would ultimately change the trajectory of my life.
Richard Gere’s character in American Gigolo showed me something I had never fully understood before: style and
confidence could shape the way the world responded to a man.
It wasn’t his profession that appealed to me, but the sophistication, confidence, and sense of belonging he projected in a world that felt far removed from my own.
Gere’s character wasn’t simply well-dressed. He moved through the world with an ease and confidence that seemed to arrive before he did. The clothes weren’t the point. The response they generated was.
It’s unlikely that Gere, Giorgio Armani, or the film’s director, Paul Schrader, set out to make a statement about first impressions. But there’s no question they succeeded in creating exactly the impressions the story required. Before
the character spoke, before the plot unfolded, we understood who he was—and how the world would react to him.
That image stayed with me. It led me, eventually, to Rich’s in Atlanta, where I bought my first truly upscale suit—an Armani, the same designer whose clothes Gere wore in the film. It was unlike anything I had owned before: better materials, a more refined, contemporary cut, and a level of craftsmanship I hadn’t yet experienced. And for the first time, it wasn’t simply taken off the rack—it was professionally fitted, shaped to my body rather than asking my body to adapt to it.
At the time, I didn’t understand the technical importance of fit. I only knew that when I put it on, something felt different.
What happened next didn’t change who I was — but the world responded to me as if it had.
I started a long way from the man you see on the book cover.
I grew up in a small town with little preparation for the professional and social worlds ahead. I had to learn for myself what opened doors — and what closed them. Along the way, I discovered there was science behind much of what I was learning. The Gentleman's Edge brings that science together with four decades of real-world experience to help you put it to work in your own life. Candidly, some of the stories in this book aren't flattering to me. I've included them anyway because those are often the moments that taught me the most.
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About the Author
Jim Harris
Jim Harris is an author, entrepreneur and writer whose work draws on more than four decades of experience in business, leadership and human interaction. He has written more than 100 published articles, contributed to Men's Health, co-written with the Chief Medical Officer of WebMD, and his work has been recognized in the U.S. Congressional Record.
His writing and media projects have reached millions through print, digital, television and podcasting. The Gentleman’s Edge has also expanded beyond the book into a recurring newspaper and magazine column, now published in multiple states.
He is also the author of The Small Biz Guide, former host of Rock Stars Talk, and former publisher of The Southern Voice.
In The Gentleman’s Edge, Harris combines established research into first impressions, perception and human behavior with practical lessons drawn from decades of real-world experience.