So you have found someone on a dating website that takes your fancy and has agreed to meet in the flesh. So what do you do now? In preparing for the initial face-to-face meeting take some time out to consider how you will both manage the evening and what are your strategies for communication.

Fun Activites to Do

• Have a picnic in the park
• Go for a hike in the mountains
• Visit a local museum
• Go wine tasting at a vineyard
• Watch a movie at a drive-in theater
• Try a new restaurant
• Go bowling
• Visit an aquarium
• Attend a music concert
• Take a dance class

Converstaion is Key

It’s always best to try to strike up a conversation before you meet at the venue. If you’re quite chatty then perhaps you can start up a funny chat topic or request questions relating to your upcoming date. It never hurts to ask about your date, that way you will find out a great deal about their personality and genuinely get to know them. Chances are that you will find out a few very important things about the person you are meeting.

One of the things you won’t want to do at the first meeting is to ask questions about the other person’s employment situation or personal financial matters. Do so when you get to know them on a deeper level through conversation. Also, although you would like to talk about yourself, don’t give away too much information as it can be quite intimidating for the other person to have to start talking about personal matters too soon.

Pros for Your First Date

One Pros for the first date is that you have a chance to test the water. If things don’t work well on the first date, you can say you had a nice time but that you really weren’t feeling any connection. If the other person is on the same wavelength and they were also feeling the same sensation, then things are very likely to be clicking for both people.

Cons for Your First Date

A couple of Cons of the first date are:

• The other person is on average is a little more reserved than on a normal date.
• The other person probably has higher expectations so be on your best behaviour.
• If at any time the date doesn’t ‘feel right’ then you can say that, but at least you tried.
• The other person might be shy or nervous so make sure you try to engage them in a happy discussion or conversation.

Although these can sometimes work against a couple having a great first date, often people want to do things they feel are memorable and fun. And even if there isn’t a strong connection, you might feel valued and appreciated by the other person.

Another con of certain first dates is that you might feel over the top to the point that you are pressured to say something you don’t really believe in and say it in a particular way. Although this isn’t really a good idea, it’s going to be a lot harder to change your behavior afterward.

On the other hand, if you are relaxed and feeling confident throughout the date, you are more likely to be able to show your real and true self and let your date see you for the unique person that you are.

Wrapping it Up

Dating is all about sharing passionate moments that can be re-lived throughout our relationship. It is great that we have such fun when we feel the sparks fly, but at the end of the day, what is it that these sparks really belong to? If we can’t get our sparks together, then, all in all, the date isn’t very meaningful.

We should all strive to make our dates fun and to be memorable, but at the same time, we must remember that life is way too short to save every experience and every experience is just another opportunity waiting to be taken to the next level. Take this opportunity to remind yourself how great the person in front of you actually is and to learn from your mistakes, but don’t sweat the small stuff.