Online Dating Reviews and Advice
Dating Site ReviewsHow to Prepare for your First Date
Everybody is nervous for a first date, particularly if you've never met in person because you met on an online dating site. I'm nervous right now just thinking about it! The best way to relieve that tension is by taking certain steps to prepare yourself. The more prepared you are, or rather the more prepared you feel, the happier and more relaxed you will be on your first date. This will increase your odds of being able to open up, be yourself, and potentially click with the person you've been looking for. Here are some steps you can take to fight back against a case of first date nerves.
The week (or a few days) before the date is a good time to think about potential conversation starters. There are two categories of conversation topics to consider. First, make a list of anything that is easy for anyone (but especially you) to talk about. If you're going to see a comedy at the local movie theater, think of other comedies you like which you could compare it to. If you're going to dinner, think about other restaurants you could recommend.
If there was recently a snow storm (rain storm, heat wave, partly cloudy day), think about what you did that day (ie. "Can you believe the wonderful sunny day we had last Saturday? I went walking through the park with my dog." or "I was stuck inside all weekend because of the snow (rain/hail/excessive sunlight) and read a great book/watched a cool movie/baked cookies. Were you stuck inside too?"). It may be cliche to talk about the weather, but the point of this list of "easy" topics is to have things on the top of your head to mention in case any awkward silences pop up.
The second category of conversation topics should be a list of things about yourself that you'd like to share. These are the types of subjects which will help your potentially significant other get to know you better. Perhaps this is the kind of stuff which attracted the other person to your online dating site profile in the first place! They may be harder to lead into than the easier topics above, but this is the good stuff. While thinking of the things you'd like to convey to the other person, compose a question to accompany each. For example, if you talk about your love of traveling, ask where your date spent his last vacation. If you discuss your favorite books, ask what your date has read recently. The whole point is to learn about what is important and enjoyable to each other.
For some conversation suggestions, check out First Date Topics.
Now that you have plenty to talk about on your upcoming first date, you should figure out what you're going to wear the day before the date. This may seem a bit on the overly prepared neurotic side, but I totally disagree. The less you have to worry about on the day of the date, the less stressed out you will feel.
Finally, on the day of the first date, take a half hour or half a day (depending on your schedule) to chat with a friend, take a relaxing bath, enjoy a coffee at your local coffee shop, read a book...anything to keep you from worrying about the date. Everything will be fine, and really, there's nothing else you can do to prepare. So just sit back, relax, and don't worry about your first date. You'll go, you'll talk, you'll connect. You'll do just fine. And if he/she's not Mr. or Ms. Right, there's always next time and you'll be ready!
