Dating Tips Q&A: How To Act On The First Date

David DeAngelo Double Your Dating

***THIS WEEK'S QUESTION***

"How should I act on the first date? What should we talk about? How do you keep the conversation interesting?"

These are all questions that I get asked often in one way or another, and in this dating tip I'd like to address this topic.

***MY COMMENTS***

The first thing to remember when you're meeting up with a girl for "a date" is that it's NOT an INTERVIEW.

You're not applying for a job (and neither is she), so don't act like it.

It's so funny to me when I sit down in a restaurant and I hear a couple that's obviously out on their first date... and the guy has no idea what to do.

It sounds like this:

"So, did you grow up around here?"

"Where did you go to school?"

"Do you have brothers and sisters?"

"What kinds of things do you like to do for fun?"

Painful.

Why is it that people tend to act like they're on job interviews when they go out on dates?

It's just such the not-right thing to do.

I mean, no wonder women sit around with each other and complain about how hard it is to find an interesting guy in this world.

Here's a good rule of thumb:

ONLY ASK QUESTIONS OR TALK ABOUT COMMON, BORING, PREDICTABLE TOPICS LIKE SCHOOL, WORK AND FAMILY IF YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY RUN OUT OF ALL OTHER OPTIONS.

And why is this?

Good question. And I'm glad you asked.

First, let's talk about WHY most guys allow the conversation to turn to these ultra-boring topics...

Most guys approach a first date from the perspective of "I don't want to screw this up".

In other words, they try to play it safe and not do anything or say anything that the girl might not like.

They try to present themselves as "nice guys" who love mom, have a good job, and are stable.

Somehow, guys have gotten the idea that if they act nice, buy dinner, and talk about the same old things that everyone else uses to bore women to tears that they might get lucky and score (or at least get a kiss and a second opportunity to buy dinner).

I don't know where this concept came from, but it's just not a very effective approach.

WOMEN AREN'T ATTRACTED TO THE SAME OLD SAME OLD, BORING, PREDICTABLE CONVERSATION.

Attraction happens when there is energy, spice, humor, mystery... COCKY AND FUNNY... and saucy.

So if you want to create ATTRACTION instead of BOREDOM, you're going to have to learn a new way.

You're going to have to learn to talk about something else.

The trick to not talking about the "usual" things is to know how to make conversation INTERESTING.

Let me ask you, what are the most INTERESTING topics to humans in general?

Right - drama, violence, scandal, and comedy that is painful to one of the parties involved.

Here are a few good ideas for conversation that come to mind:

"So what's with The Osbournes being MTV's #1 show of all time? I guess people just can't get enough of dysfunctional family life... they have to watch it on TV too."

"I'm so bummed that J-Lo and Ben are on the rocks. They were so damn cute together. I was hoping that they'd have a daughter with perfect hair and a bedonka donk butt from birth."

"Have you tuned into this "Cheaters" TV show? Don't you just love it when they come storming into someone's house and catch the wife in bed with another guy on national TV?"

These topics will light up a conversation like nobody's business. And they create all kinds of opportunities to be cocky and funny while talking about the misfortunes and neurotic behavior of others.

The trick is that you must remember you're not there to impress her, and you're not on a job interview.

The more you act nervous, stilted, and uncomfortable...like you're trying to impress her and get her approval... and like you don't want to say anything that might make her disapprove of you, the less likely you are to trigger that all- important ATTRACTION inside of her.

And here's a real twist on this theme:

If SHE starts asking the "normal" questions about school, job, family, etc. this is a perfect opportunity to bust on her and say "What, is this a job interview?"

Or "Can't you think of something interesting to talk about? Please, spare me the pain of the usual school-job-family conversation. Let's save that until we're picking names for our kids."

Here are a few other good ideas for conversation:

1) History. Women love to hear stories about the history of places. If you're in an interesting part of town, tell her the story of how the area came to be named, or why the city was built where it is. And if the story involves a tale of love and/or scandal, all the better.

2) Anything superficial, classy, and basically meaningless. Try learning a little about fashion, this way you can make fun of it while acting like you know what you're talking about. "Didn't Madonna really screw up the fashion world with this whole over-the-top fake cowboy look thing?"

3) Comedy Psychological Analysis. Have fun by giving your wild perspective on others. "You know, I've been trying to figure out why so many people these days are going postal and shooting everyone. I think it might be all the NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Backstreet Boys on the radio." This one can be a lot of fun... be creative.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

If you want to keep her interest, then you have to be INTERESTING.

The old-fashioned act-like-you're-on-a-job interview rap just doesn't cut it.

Now, for some guys, the ideas that I've just talked about will make sense, but they won't come naturally.

That's OK. You may have to work on this for awhile, especially if you've spent the last 25 or so years doing the wrong thing.

Old Proverb: "No matter how far down the wrong road you've gone, TURN BACK."

So remember, attraction isn't a choice. And attraction doesn't make logical sense. If you want to create that magical "chemistry", then you're going to have to LEARN and PRACTICE it.

...and if you'd like to learn DOZENS of great ideas on how to meet, attract, date, and get physical with women, I recommend that you download a copy of my online eBook "Double Your Dating," and sign up for my free Dating Tips Newsletter. Just go to:

• Free Dating Tips Newsletter And Download eBook •

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David DeAngelo is the author of "Double Your Dating - What Every Man Should Know About How To Be Successful With Women", and has taught thousands of men how to be more successful with women and dating.
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Copyright 2004 David DeAngelo Communications Inc., All Rights Reserved. "David DeAngelo" and "Double Your Dating" are trademarks used by David DeAngelo Communications Inc.