First dates are nerve-wracking for everyone. There's excitement, anticipation, a little bit of doubt and absolutely no idea of where the date could go.
Time is at a premium for all of us. So, keep these guidelines in mind when evaluating who you want to spend your precious time with. And no, you are not being rude here; you are respecting both your and the other person's time.
That being said, you must always be gracious. Having no connection or chemistry with someone does not mean that there is something wrong with them, so don't just diss people.
Research has shown us that the first 30 minutes of your date can tell you whether you want to see more of the person, or whether it's time to say goodbye. So here's the clock.
0 - 10 minutes:You have set a place and time to meet. You show up, and locate the table with a lone ranger. As you are walking up and observing the person, if you are wondering if you should walk away and disappear, please walk up and give yourself at least 10 minutes with the individual. In 10 minutes, if you still feel the same, then it's okay to have an emergency call or remember something urgent and split. But it is absolutely not cool to not show up. No one likes to be stood up- not even you!
10 - 20 minutes:You are still feeling a bit awkward. Any conversation that starts either ends very quickly or the response is monosyllabic. Conversations that start seem to have no appeal for either of you. You've started looking around hoping that the wait staff will interrupt, and you've gulped down some coffee at the risk of burning your mouth. When conversations are as uncomfortable as the silence, it is time to call this one a miss.
{{/usCountry}}10 - 20 minutes:You are still feeling a bit awkward. Any conversation that starts either ends very quickly or the response is monosyllabic. Conversations that start seem to have no appeal for either of you. You've started looking around hoping that the wait staff will interrupt, and you've gulped down some coffee at the risk of burning your mouth. When conversations are as uncomfortable as the silence, it is time to call this one a miss.
{{/usCountry}}20 - 30 minutes:You've passed the first 20 minutes, but by this time if you are still racking your brain to find topics to talk about, it's going to be a lasting struggle. If conversations are not flowing easily by 30 minutes and you do not have a lingering smile through the conversation (even perhaps laughing out loud when you find something funny), meeting this person again alone will be a bit of a chore the next time.
If 30 minutes have passed and you had no idea, then you can be assured that you're headed for a good encounter.
Note: By Simran Mangharam, Co-founder of www.floh.in, a platform that connects singles in real-life.
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