Thomas Farley

Farley in 2012

Thomas P. Farley is an American manners expert, writing under the name "Mister Manners". He is also a keynote speaker and workshop leader, a radio and television personality, and a journalist.

As a commentator on subjects of contemporary behavior, Farley is a frequent guest on NBC's Today Show, among other media outlets, where he addresses topics such as "How to Deal with Nasty Neighbors" and "How to Deal with a Low Talker." He also runs a consulting company called What Manners Most, which works with corporations to elevate the level of professionalism and courtesy in their operations. Among the subjects he covers include "Executive Presence," "Getting Along & Getting Ahead," and "Dressing for Success."

It was during his tenure at Town & Country (2000-2008), that Farley first became known to national and New York television audiences as an expert on issues of better behavior, appearing on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and in periodicals such as The New York Times and New York magazine.

During his time at Town & Country, he was the editor of T&C's "On the Town" and "Social Graces" columns. While still at the magazine, he edited the anthology Modern Manners: The Thinking Person's Guide to Social Graces, a guide to mannerly living that includes essays by Peggy Noonan, Frank McCourt and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Throughout 2011, Farley served as a guest host for Living Today, a three-hour program that aired live daily on the Martha Stewart Living Radio network on Sirius XM 110, satellite radio, introducing, among other ideas, a segment called "Manners Mondays."

He publishes a list of the year's worst-behaved individuals: a roster that he says is "not intended to embarrass, but to inform," and is working on a new book devoted to popular etiquette pet peeves.

In addition to his media commentating, Farley leads workshops for corporations and universities, promoting the concept of modern manners—a level of professionalism that balances the demands of living in a gadget-obsessed culture with the mannerly touches of an earlier age. Among his clients have included Estée Lauder Companies, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, the American Automobile Association, the New York City Department of Economic Development and Viacom.

Along with his fellow etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, of the Protocol School of Texas, in the fall of 2012, Farley launched a national campaign called Thanksgiving Unplugged, the goal of which is to get Americans to disconnect from their digital devices during Thanksgiving dinner and focus instead on family. Also in October 2012, Farley began a year as manners columnist for the New York Post.

As host and producer of New York Insider TV, Farley is a frequent and popular personality on the New York social scene and has interviewed more than 100 celebrities for the show, including Mike Myers, Sarah Jessica Parker, Snoop Dogg, Ivanka Trump, Andie MacDowell, Sean Connery, Jessica Biel, Joan Rivers, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jimmy Fallon Sarah, Duchess of York and Jon Bon Jovi. He is also a regular fixture on the foodie circuit, where he has interviewed everyone from Guy Fieri to Rocco DiSpirito and from Rachael Ray to Emeril Lagasse.

He is the nightlife correspondent for Citybuzz, a New York-based destination shows.Citybuzz can be seen in hotel rooms throughout Manhattan and on WNYE-TV, the fifth largest local television station in the United States.

As a journalist, among the major feature stories Farley has written during his career include the tale of a cruise to Antarctica, a first-person account of flying with the Blue Angels and reportage from volcano-ravaged Montserrat, in the West Indies. (Shortly after he and his photographer left, the island's airport was permanently closed, due to a pyroclastic flow that destroyed the runway).

Farley wrote Modern Manners: The Thinking Person's Guide to Social Graces in 2005, and The Experts' Guide to Doing Things Faster: 100 Ways to Make Life More Efficient in 2008. He is a featured contributor to Minding Your Manners in a Fast-Paced World.

Farley is founder of the Experts Collective, a group of like-minded lifestyle experts that also includes digital lifestyle guru Mario Armstrong, animal lifestyle expert Wendy Diamond and dating and relationships expert Andrea Syrtash, among several others.