How To Overcome Speed Dating Jitters

The last few years months have been devastating on your personal life. Last weekend was your last night hanging out at a bar... or so you told yourself. Quite frankly you're fed up with the "buyer beware" online dating profiles. Earlier this week, a couple of your friends attended a local speed dating event and loved it. As a matter of fact, you personally know a couple that met at an event and now they are engaged. You'd love to go too, but you're a shy person and have a bad case of stage fright. However you realize it's more frightening to go on another "blind date" via online personal ads. Your anxiety is not uncommon in regards to speed dating; however there are 5 quick steps that will definitely get you over your jitters and on to experiencing a night of fun filled mini-dates:

Relax- One can never mention this enough. Basically it's musical chairs for adults not a job interview. For eight minutes you're having light conversation with people that are there for the same reasons you are. That's the beauty of speed dating. You're not standing around for 2-3 hours being ignored and wasting money on high priced drinks. Furthermore you're not stuck on a date that's about as great as chalk screeching on a chalkboard. So take a deep breath smile and just go with it!


Bring a friend(s)- Make it a guys/girls night out. There's security in numbers and for the meek, having someone there that you know may ease some uncertainties. Even better, bring a friend of the opposite sex. In many cases this may help with the overall gender ratio at the party.


Appearance- As the saying goes, "If you look good you feel good." By putting forth a little extra effort in your appearance, you will also gain a little self-confidence. Let's face it, you only have a short amount of time to make a good impression. Therefore your appearance is a very crucial element to the speed dating experience.

Be punctual- Nothing throws a person mentally off their game more than being late for an occasion. Speed dating is no different. You may miss out on valuable information that could be beneficial to the overall enjoyment of the event. More importantly you may end up losing your seat and have to be booked for another event. Besides, who wants to be remembered as the schmuck who showed up late a speed dating party?


 You've already won half the battle just by reading this article. Speed dates go pretty fast so what are you waiting for? Get out and mingle!
Partake in the libations- If steps 1 through 4 fail, slightly indulge in the available refreshments. Nothing says relax like happy hour cocktails.

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