While it’s important to make a great first impression – you need to figure out how you’re going to secure your second date if everything went well. Getting past the first date is a beginning sign that you might have some potential for your relationship. It’s important that as a man, you don’t leave your date hanging – and as a woman, you should express how the date went, to help influence whether there will be a second date or not.

With that said, I have some specific advice for men and women each, along with some advice that works for both sexes.
Ladies first:

1. Make sure that you’re relaxed and that you be yourself. If you get nervous, remember that your date is probably just as nervous as you are. Remember to have fun – it’s a date!

2. Don’t interrogate. There’s a fine line between being interested and interrogating your date. You need to make sure that you do not cross this line! If you are throwing question after question at him, he might become a little intimidated. My friends call this “attacking with words.” Avoid doing this as much as possible. Don’t come to the date prepared with a mental survey for your date to fill out. Just be open minded, and learn about the as much as you can – without interrogating! It’s about getting to know the person – they aren’t applying for a job.

3. Make sure that you let your date know how it went. I don’t mean to be rude and tell them “This date sucked, don’t ever call me again.” But if you didn’t have a good time – don’t tell him that you did! If you aren’t interested in someone, giving signals to that person will not end well for either party. If you had a good time, then let him know.

For Men:
1. Show genuine interest in her! You should be asking your date more questions than she is asking you. Don’t be nervous going into the date about topics of conversation – just have a couple of starters for topics and let your date take it from there. I promise you she will do her part in the conversation, and some! Just make sure that you are listening carefully to what she is talking about and ask good follow-up questions. There’s a stereotype that men don’t listen – break that stereotype by showing that you’re genuinely interested in what she’s saying.

2. Focus on positive topics. Remember, this is your first date. Don’t start talking about abortion rights (not that you would) or your religious beliefs or other controversial subjects. Stick to things that she is interested in and keep everything positive. If you start complaining & moving to negative topics, she will associate that negativity with you – and trust me, that does not reflect well on your chances for a second date.

3. Be complimentary. I don’t mean telling her she’s beautiful 13 times per hour. I would say that more than 3 comments is probably too excessive. Don’t scare your date away with excessive complimenting, but make sure that if she looks good, or you like her outfit, tell her! Just don’t say “I like your outfit…but it would look better on my bedroom floor.” Not going to end well for you.

For Men & Women

Here are 3 quick tips –
1. No cell phones!
2. Don’t bring unexpected guests – it is not appreciated.
3. Do some body language research! I will write a good post about this in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.

Now get out there and find yourself some dates!