About 150 students looking for romantic guidance — or at least Learning Beyond the Classroom credits — packed into Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center Auditorium on Tuesday night to hear author/lecturer Nicholas Aretakis give a talk with the same title as his book: “Ditching Mr. Wrong.”

A song that repeatedly intoned "Happily Ever After" played at a low volume before Aretakis took the stage. Wearing a suit with a v-neck white t-shirt, Aretakis seemed a little short on dynamic charisma but long on good will. (As a self-professed "tech nerd" — he’s CEO of Arkayne, an Arizona-based company that links blogs with similar topics online — perhaps this is to be expected.)

Aretakis introduced himself by way of explaining that his expertise on the topic of love and relationships came not through a degree, but through more than 20 years of dating, and hanging out "with hundreds of those Mr. Wrongs" along the way; eventually, this resulted in a happy marriage with three children (two of which appeared in an adorable photo, of course — one of many images projected above Aretakis throughout the presentation).

Using anecdotes, film clips (from "He's Just Not that into You," "Meet the Parents" and "Failure to Launch") and common sense — which is admittedly lacking in many of our choices regarding love — Aretakis broke down his talk into five main points: one, start with you; two, start early with him; three, measure and profile; four, ditch him; and five, attract Mr. Right.

"Starting with you" explores why "you ladies can give sage advice to your friends and can't heed that advice for yourselves, particularly when you get into toxic relationships." Specifically, Aretakis focused on not being lured by superficial things like popularity, money and power; maintaining your independence; letting go of the expectation that you'll change a man; and setting strong boundaries and high standards.

"Starting early with him" involves finding out what you can about a potential partner and doing your homework. "You all grew up with the Internet," said Aretakis. "If he gives you his card, just try and make sure you get his formal name and his middle initial. If there's any way you can get a social security number, that's even better." Short of that, finding out about a man's occupation, what his relationships with family members are like, and the kind of people who are his friends are a start.

"Health, happiness and your future are predictable," Aretakis noted. "Most people think, given my background, that I'm trying to combine logic with the illogical. Analytical reasoning skills with love and romance. Seemingly oxymorons."

"Measure and profiles" offers a dating litmus test for partners who have been together for at least three months or 10 dates. Among the questions are: As time elapses, do you like him more? Does he make you feel good about yourself? Does he give comparably or more than what he takes? Is he a healthy and positive influence on you? Do you agree on family planning?

With this measure in place, Aretakis offered a handful of possible profiles: the mystery man; the benefactor; the debate champion; man in control; Mr. Heavy Baggage; and Mr. Non-committal. ("Be gentle with this guy," Aretakis said of the last type. "He was me. I was elusive until I was 42.") Aretakis explained that there are two main reasons men won't commit to relationships: either they're not ready, or you're not the right person.

The "ditch him" portion of the talk was part pep talk, part how-to on break-ups. Aretakis discussed the various means (by phone, text message, e-mail, etc.) by which you can end a relationship, saying you might consider how you would want to be told if you were on the other end. "Or you can do it the old fashioned way. You can do it in person. And you know what? If the guy was a good guy, and he just wasn't the right guy, and if you're not threatened, or you're not worried that he's going to overwhelm you and try and reverse your decision, then that (option) is the right one."

Other key points in the "ditch him" portion concerned separating your finances before the breakup, and forgiving yourself. "Most relationships don't work," said Aretakis. "That's why we date in the first place."

Finally, "Attracting Mr. Right" involves "getting your life in shape mentally, physically, spiritually and professionally." According to Aretakis, the best places to meet compatible men are religious or political functions ("people do tend to align with people that they have substantive things in common with"); house parties (knowing people in common); and sporting events, while the worst places are the workplace ("If it doesn't work out, it's going to be very uncomfortable for one or both of you, and typically, someone needs to find a new job"), where you live, and bars.

"My objective with this was not to make money," concluded Aretakis. "It was not necessarily to make friends, because I think I probably lost more guy friends in the process. But I really aspire that many more women out there, and men, will find the right person, will look at the proper metrics in ascertaining whether a relationship has potential for a future. And the quicker that you get rid of Mr. Wrong, the faster, ladies, you will find Mr. Right."

EMU students in attendance seemed to embrace Aretakis' message. Junior Ashleigh Robinson, a public relations major, said, "I've had a few bad relationships, so I wanted to figure out the warning signs and know what to do. ... The part that was really helpful for me was the profiles that he did about the different kinds of guys."

Meanwhile, junior Michelle McAlpine, a marketing major, said, "Me and my roommates date around, and we wanted some good advice, because we've had some losers in our life. ... Figuring out how to ditch Mr. Wrong was definitely helpful, and when to ditch, so you don't spend too much time with him. ... I agreed with a lot of the advice (Aretakis) gave."

And despite the talk's exclusive focus on the women's side of the love equation, finance major Brian Nwagwu, a junior, found value in the lecture, too. "I have a lot of female friends who have problems with men, so with this program, I can hope to give them my insights, and what I learned."

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.