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Relax, This Will Be Over Before You Know It

First date jitters and how to deal with them.



You never get a second chance to make a first impression. We often hear this bit of advice but is it really true? You may be worried about making a bad first impression while on a first date but just relax. The other person is probably just as nervous as you are and a few minor issues are always expected on the first date. Still there are a few things that you can do to make yourself more comfortable.

Go through your normal daily routine. Don't switch your day up to much in anticipation of the date. You want to put yourself at ease and make things easy on yourself. Changing your daily schedule will introduce new variables into your day that may cause stress and worry. This is not good as it will increase the likelihood that you will not be your usual self on your first date.

Don't go overboard. If you find somebody that you are really excited about dating it can be real easy to go overboard on the first date. Avoid this temptation like it was the plague. You may want to impress your date but there is a fine line between making a good first impression and coming across like an overzealous stalker. You definitely don't want to fall into the latter category. Some nice flowers, a moderately upscale restaurant and some dressy yet casual attire are usually as far as you need to go to impress. Remember it will be the content of your conversation that will keep the other person interested. If they find your stories and experiences interesting they will be more likely to want a second date.

Come up with three go-to stories that you can talk about on the date. When you're under pressure it can be really hard to think of what to say next. You need to prepare for this and identify three stories that you can talk about if there are large lulls in the conversation. It's best to let the stories flow into your conversation instead of just blurting out the beginning of the story after a minute of dead silence.

To give an example. Let's say you broke your arm once when you were a teenager. If you see somebody walking by with a cast or some type of injury you could say:

"That reminds me of when I broke my arm..."

Go ahead and tell the story of how it happened, how it affected you, and any other revealing details. Your date will learn a little bit about you and will probably be entertained at the same time. Make sure you space the stories out though. If you use all 3 of them up in the first 10 minutes then you may be in for a long and uncomfortable date!

First date jitters can be a thing of the past with just a little preparation. Think about what you want to say or reveal to the other person, don't go overboard with gifts, and just stay in your regular routine.