Avoiding the Awkward Pauses!

Everyone knows how awkward a first date can be unless you already know the person somehow. With online dating, meeting someone for the first time can be nerve racking! "What are we going to talk about?" is the first thing that goes through your mind. In order to relieve yourself of this stress and calm your nerves, simply come up with a list questions/topics to talk about and avoid the awkwards pauses. A good conversation starter is always "How was your day?". This shows your politeness and manners which gives your date a good first impression. Your putting the focus on them and allowing them to talk a little about themselves and who doesn't like to do that? It also gives you a chance to see what kind of person they are. Do they constantly complain and talk about all the crappy things that happened that day? Do they focus on the positive things that happen? Or do they take the bad things that happened and turn them into something positive? This tells a lot about how people percieve things. Then, of course, you can go into the questions of things that they do in their spare time such as hobbies, etc allowing you to see if there is anything you have in common. If this is the case, this gives you an opportunity to build on the thing you have in common. You're able to connect and allow for a growing conversation. This leads to more questions building on the thing you have in common like how long you've been doing it, why you are interested in it, etc. On the other hand, if its something you don't have in common, your now giving the person time to tell you about it, putting the attention on him/her. Putting the focus on your date will gain you brownie points. It shows your curious about the person, your a good listener and allows you to learn more about the person. But these are just a few simple ways to avoid the awkwardness a lot of people dread on a first date with someone you've never met before. Next time you go on a date, be prepared with topics/questions!