Ten tips to improve your dating success

If you've been dating for a while, but you seem to be getting nowhere, it's most likely that it has nothing to do with you as a person, but it could be that you are making a few fundamental dating mistakes. Dating is a very artificial situation that can be very awkward. You will both be trying your best to impress and you are both probably very nervous too. You won't fall deeply in love with every person you meet and not every date will be a total success, but there are things that you can do to improve your chances. Here are ten great dating tips that will help you make dating more successful.

1. Become a good listener
A common mistake that people make on dates is that they talk too much and listen too little. This is usually a nervous reaction to the tense situation, but you should try really hard to let your date get a few words in too! Giving him a chance to talk will allow you to learn more about your date and a two way conversation will much more enjoyable for both of you.

2. Keep the first few dates fairly short
It is usually best if you keep the first few dates relatively short, until to get to know the person better. That's not to say that you need to put a time limit on a date and do a runner when the alarm goes off, but all day dates are best left until a bit later on in the relationship. It gives you some time to get to know one another better and find common interests for longer dates later on.

3. Don't bury your head in your phone
One of the good dating tips for when you want to give a good impression of yourself is to avoid spending all your time looking at your phone, so put it away in your bag, so you don't get distracted. If you keep looking at your phone, even if it's only briefly to check who the last text was from, you will appear bored and disinterested in your date, and it's rude.

4. Avoid controversial topics of conversion
Some topics of conversation are best left alone for the first few dates, especially potentially controversial ones that either you or your date might be passionate about. Topics such as politics, for example, can be deal breakers early on the relationships, but later on, when you have got to know each other better, they may seem less important.

5. Be real
One of simple, yet useful dating tips is to be true to yourself and don't put on an act to impress. Everyone wants to create a good impression on a date, but that can make you try too hard, which will only make you look false. Try your best to relax and let your true personality come out, because that is what you want a date to like. If your date falls in love with a person who isn't real, he's either going to be disappointed at some time in the future, or you'll be putting on an act for a very long time!

6. Don't play games
You may have heard dating tips like, wait for him to call you, don't pick up his first call, or arrive late to dates, because you should keep him waiting. Don't listen to any of those kinds of tips, because they won't improve your dating success one single bit. If you play those kinds of games with a guy, he'll most likely see right through it and he'll get bored with being messed around.

7. When you are on a date, concentrate on the date

If you are on a date and you see some people you know, stay with your date; don't disappear for an hour while you chat to your friends. Pay attention to the person are with and don't let things distract you. Your date has made an effort to come out with you and he wants to spend that time talking to you and finding out more about you.

8. Be open minded
One of the reasons why you might not have been so successful on dates is that you are expecting too much of people. You don't have to settle for second best, but you can't expect every man to tick every one of your boxes either. So one of useful dating tips is to be a little bit more open-minded about people, and give your date a chance. You might find that, once you get to know him more, there are many more things about him that you do like than you don't.

9. Don't rush things
Don't let your wish for a date to go well make you rush things, or you could scare your date away. Take things slowly and let nature take its course, there's no need for you to be making big plans for the future when you've only met a guy a few times. Remember what the song said – you can't hurry love.

10. Relax
Here is one of the simplest, yet powerful dating tips – relax. In some ways, the best way to make a date work is to not go into it expecting too much. Try to look upon it as a fun night out, rather than thinking of it as a fishing expedition for a lifelong partner and that will take some of the pressure off you. If you relax and have a good time, you will enjoy yourself more and the date will probably be a lot more successful.

What are your favorite dating tips?
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