Dating Rules for Your First Date Ever

by Meggin Sanez

If you are about to go on your first date ever, you are sure to be very excited – and maybe even a bit nervous.  So to help calm your nerves before heading out the door with the lucky guy or girl, be sure to check out the following rules for making it a first date to never forget:

Plan your date.  When thinking up fantastic ideas to wow your date, don’t go too over the top.  A fancy dinner at a nice restaurant is great, but can often put a lot more pressure on the situation than there already is.  Go for something in a public place that is casual and allows the two of you to comfortable get to know each other.

Make a killer first impression.  Of course, you’re going to set aside hours to get ready, pick out the perfect ensemble and make sure every piece of hair on your head is in its proper place.  But other than just your looks, remember that some of the best first impressions are made by being on time, being polite and respecting your date in every way that you can.

Be yourself.  Of course you want to impress your date in hopes of scoring a second, but if you are trying too hard, it’s going to be obvious—and if you put on an elaborate show of someone you aren’t on the first date, it’s going to be exhausting to live up to the picture you painted of yourself later.  Just be you—and if someone doesn’t like that, then they aren’t a match…forget about them and move on to the next one!

Engage in conversation.  After the butterflies pass and you get over the initial ice-breaking small talk, you should be more relaxed and the conversation should begin to flow.  Be sure not to solely focus on yourself during the course of your date—ask plenty of questions, actively listen and provide meaningful responses to show your date you are genuinely interested in getting to know them.

Be positive.  Who would you rather hang out with:  Someone who is sulking, complaining and talking about miserable problem after problem?  Or someone who is smiling, laughing and enjoying a good time?  Most likely you’d choose the latter…and so would your date.  So talk about the parts of life that you enjoy, stay upbeat and show off your positive attitude.  Remember, positivity attracts positivity.

Remember the time.  Even if you’re having the time of your life and the date couldn’t be going any better, don’t let it linger for too long.  Think of it like this – if it’s going that great and you call it quits early, most likely your date will be wanting more too – so save some more fun for date number two!

Conclude the date.  The time to bid farewell is often the portion of the date that can send the butterflies rushing back and you wonder, “To kiss or not to kiss?”  Well, it just depends on how the date went… try to read your date’s body language to determine whether or not it would be appropriate – then make your move from there.  If you had a wonderful time, a text message or a phone call post-first date is essential to let the person that you would like to see them again.  Don’t play hard to get or wait too long to follow up.  And even if the time you had was on the opposite end of the spectrum from “wonderful,” make sure that you are honest and careful not to lead the person on.

Meggin Sanez is a guest post author who shares with us her rules for your first date ever.  In addition, Meggin also owns Black Dating Sites where she provides online singles of the black community information about how to safely date on the web.