To get to a relationship the first date in inevitable. First dates require planning around what you wear, where you’re going and especially what you talk about.
Once you’ve picked your perfect outfit and you arrive at the location within 10 minutes of the meet up time, it’s time to meet you date. Or perhaps you have already met and it’s time to really get to know your date.
Outside of the typical “my name is…”, “my job is…” and “I’m from…” there are several more questions and conversation starters that can remove that awkward tension that lingers in the air during a first date.
Obviously try to avoid heavy topics of conversation like politics, religion, past relationships etc.
Ask if they have any siblings and what their like. I personally, love gushing about my siblings like a proud sister and I have endless crazy stories about the times we did something crazy.
What they like about their job, this will be a less stressful question that how’s your job or where do you plan to go in your career. Keep it light, it’s a date not an interview.
Food & drink preferences, this will help you learn more about their likes and dislikes and how easy it would be to mesh on future dates.
Seen any good movies recently? Allowing the other person to give a recommendation and share their opinion makes them feel respected.
Ask about their interests outside of their job. Do they like to brew beer on the weekends or go hiking? Learning about someone’s hobbies gives you a clear insight into what you could do together on the weekends. Watch out for bruhs who say their hobbies include “beach, bars and man-time”.
Travel, whether they’ve been elsewhere or are hoping to go elsewhere, talking about travel always gives you a little bit of excitement.
Ask them if they’ve been on any awkward dates [insert your own awkward date anecdote here]. “I had this real awkward date a while back where the guy brought along his childhood blanket…it didn’t go well from there.”
Another pro tip, location is everything. Try to pick a location where you feel comfortable, that’s not too loud and isn’t too fancy (one to two dollar signs on Yelp).
Most of all be yourself!
Any #protips from your dating experience that you want to share? @RomanticalAid on twitter