Speed dating
events are the newest rage in town. After all, meeting
some twenty odd people in the span of one evening has to
throw up some good prospects. Dates stretch from a
miniscule three minutes to a loooong ten minutes and at
the end of it every single out there has ticked off his or
her choices. After the event, if two people have ticked
against each other a ‘match’ is declared and the two
people are provided each other’s contact information. Some
daters can land up to seven matches in one evening while
there are those who have to walk away without a match. So
why is there such a big gap in the numbers? And what can
you do to maximize your chances of a match at a speed
dating evening?
Michelle and Lori, who oversee a speed dating event every
three days, came up with six very simple tricks to make an
impact in three minutes.
Trick One : Treat it like a job interview
When you go in to get that dream job, you dress to make an
impression, work on your resume and try to present
yourself in the best light possible. Think of the whole
speed dating evening as a series of a mini – interviews,
for the post of your date, partner, soul mate. Dress to
make an impression, ask questions and above all stay
lively and upbeat.
Trick Two : Create a Resume
No, you don’t need to sit down at the mini date and wave a
copy of your resume into the face of every guy/gal you get
to speed date. This is one resume you make for your self.
List down on this resume your current ‘life – stage’. A
life stage mentions in one sentence, where you are in life
right now for e.g. ‘a thirty something single with a
successful career, looking for companionship’, or a
‘single parent looking for support’ Then put down two
paragraphs, one about yourself and one about the kind of
person you are looking for. When writing down what you are
looking for in your date be specific. Someone ‘romantic’
can be someone who takes you out for a candle light dinner
or someone who gives you a high by dancing with you all
night. Be specific about your kind of ‘romantic’. Also
list down things which are ‘deal – breakers’. If you can’t
stand cigarette smoke, a smoker is a no – no and if you
are allergic to cats, a person with pets is out of the
fray. Once you are done, get a good friend to read through
these to give you a reality check. You will now be much
better prepared to pick the right people in three minutes.
Trick Three : Dress to impress
You would dress conservatively when going for a job
interview. The same applies here. Don’t wear itsy- bitsy
dresses or show up looking like you are ready to go
camping. Make sure your dress is comfortable. There is
nothing more distracting than a date fiddling with their
dress through out the allotted ten minutes. Make sure your
hair is well groomed, wear good shoes and use cologne or
after- shave.
Trick Four : Be prepared
Before going for an interview, you read up about the
company and prepare questions you would like answered
about the position. In pretty much the same way, come up
with a list of questions you would like your date to
answer in the ten minutes you have. Throw run of the mill
questions like’ What do you do?’ and ‘Where do you live?’,
out of the window. Ask interesting, open ended questions,
which tell you more about the person like’ What kind of
people do you like hanging out with?,’ and ‘What would
your best friend say about you?’
Trick Five : Don’t Whine
You would not inundate the interviewer at the job
interview with whines about past bosses and bitchy co
workers. Stick to the same rule here. Do not mention your
‘ex’, the guy who stalked you ( or the one you stalked )!
Also avoid territory that leads to talk about a
dysfunctional family or myriad diseases plaguing anyone
around you. Ten minutes can be a very long time if one has
to listen to someone go on about the digestive disorder
their senile aunt suffered from a few months back.
Trick Six : Avoid the Negatives
At a job interview the you skirt all your negatives and
accentuate all positives. At a speed date too, accentuate
your positives. Do not inundate the guy/girl you are
talking too, with a list of everything that’s wrong with
you. It’s not a confessional and you don’t have to get all
your sins off your chest right now. But that does not mean
that you feel free to lie to come up looking good. Be
honest yourself – only then would you be able to expect
honesty from others.
Now go out there into the big bad world of speed dating
with the confidence that you are going to land this job!
© 2005. All rights reserved
Ruchita writes for Speed Dating . com - Speed Dating
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