Alright, I'm meeting my girlfriend's father this Sunday. His attitude towards me is already very negative, according to my girlfriend. He is around 280 pounds, 6'7", and he used to box professionally. I'm fairly intimidated by him, and I haven't met him yet. Could someone give me some suggestions on how to act around him to reduce the hostility and show him that I'm a good person?

hoohthat certainly does not seem to be a man to fool around with! OK, lets get seroius, I think that first impression is the most important and you should not blew that...Try to be nice and not to nice so you won't be all sleezy and that because they will notice that! If he is over-protecting about his daughter than that is a little problem but hopefully when he sees you and you manage to convince him that she has nothing to loose if she is with you but rather gain something!

Don't be scared, thats first, because her father knows that his daugther would kill him if he does soemthing to you, other than that just be yourself, maybe a bit politer version of yourself

Good luck

Be yourself, is all the advice I'll give you. Don't stress over trying to adhere to whatever advice other people give you, just be yourself.

Even if you pretend to be someone else now, he'll eventually get to know the real you and either like it or not. It's better to just be straight with him now and save all the hassle later on.

That's assuming this relationship is long-term.

Johnny is right, be yourself. It's no good pretending to be someone that you are not, people will always see through a charade like that. Treat both him and his daughter with respect, (I assume you already do that) and you should be fine.

Well... good luck. My boyfriends are generally worried about how it'll go when they meet my dad (for some reason o.o), but it has always gone well so far, so.. ^^
Lying is bad.. you want these people to trust you. So trying to act differently to win them over seems like a bad idea. Just be yourself.. although a little respect couldn't hurt

Just show him that you are interested and truthful about your intentions owards his daughter. If you want to be smart - ask him for a minute of his time when you meet him (in private) - just state your case and honesty and all will be well.

My girlfriend had told me that her dad was pretty scary, shouted a lot and she likened him to Begbie from Trainspotting. This as you'd expect had me rather apprehensive about meeting him. I'd managed to put him off for a bit until one day I locked myself and the mrs. outside my flat and she had to call him up for a lift.

I was bricking it, not the greatest of first impressions this is it. Anyway 5 minutes before he arrives and the lady wants to go and buy some dinner, I'm like "no way, you've got to wait on your dad can't go pissing him off".

So he arrives, has a joke with me and turns out to be one of the frendliest folk you could ever meet! I was so relieved it's unreal. Gf told me he likes me as I smile and I'm polite and well mannared.

So there you go, just be nice.

you need to just relax, i'm sure he's not as bad as he seems. just be yourself and it'll all work out. most people are jerks for no reason, just don't give him a reason to not like you. Be honest with him and always have her home on time and you'll probably not have any problems with him.

Manners if hes from a well-off family, if hes the type of guy who walks around with crumbs on his face and wears a grease stained wifebeater 24/7, just shake his hand and give him a fairly strong grip. Try to make a small talk, but not cheesy. Try to avoid talking about work if he seems not to be happy with his job... Also you might want to consider asking your girlfriend what type of things hes interested in.