Heard enough pick-up lines? Don’t like nightclubs? Sat through one too many bad blind dates? Can’t seem too meet new dates? Pushed for time? Why not try speed dating?
Fast dating. Hurry dating. 3 minute dating. 8 minute dating. Coco Swan has researched the newest dating fashion to sweep the world and gives you all the speed dating tips to increase your chances of getting a tick on your dating card.
Speed dating is defined as an organized method of meeting potential romantic partners in which participants evaluate each other over the course of a single event through a series of brief one-on-one meetings. Coco did hear it being described elsewhere as “musical chairs with people as prizes”.
The concept of speed dating is the FreeFuckbookApp brain child of Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish Ha Torah, who saw it as a way for Jewish singles to meet each other in large cities where they were in the minority. The word “SpeedDating” is actually a registered trademark of Aish Ha Torah. “Speed dating” is now a generic term for a similar concept. Other terms include: fast dating, hurry dating, 3 minute dating, and 8 minute dating. The first speed dating event occurred in Beverley Hills in 1998. After an episode in Sex and the City in 2000 the concept of speed dating really took off.
Speed dating is less intimidating than meeting strangers in a bar, and certainly a lot safer. It is being billed as a fast fun way to meet a room full of eligible strangers who are also looking to date. It is a great way to meet new people and enlarge your social circle. Since dating is really a numbers game, speed dating is perfect, as you can meet as many as 25 prospective dates at one event. Various companies obviously use different numbers but the more popular sites were using between 8-25 as their meeting numbers. Usually the event you will be attending will have people in the same age range as yourself. There are also many niche speed dating events out there catering for gay speed dating, black speed dating, older man younger woman, and various religious affiliations, including Jewish speed dating.
Speed dating is perfect for those who are time deficient. This concept is a real time saver as most people decide very quickly if they are going to be compatible romantically.
How Speed Dating Works:
A selected equal number of guys and girls attend a venue like a trendy lounge, café or bar. Every one is given the equivalent of a dating card. Every one will just be introduced by their first name for security purposes. Encounters seem to run from 3 minutes to 8 minutes depending on the company you are using. At the end of the allocated time a bell will ring, or a glass will be clinked, and all the males will get up and move one place on. If you should fancy what you have seen then you tick the appropriate box on your card. If you are lucky enough for reciprocated interest then within 1-2 days the company will line the two of you up. Some companies are now incorporating online dating with their speed dating services and these then match you up online. These companies are also offering the service of looking at profiles before you attend and then the company can invite any one you fancy along to the same event as you. Sounds pretty good to me!
Obviously, punctuality is essential with speed dating. If you are late you will throw the numbers out. Most companies make a point of saying that if you are late they will cancel you.
Likewise, once you have arrived, you are there for the duration, little short of medical emergency, because once again you will be messing up the ratios for everyone else. So if you are going to go, be on time and plan on staying to the end.
What to Wear:
You are going to be noticed at this event so you need to take some care with your appearance.
Make sure your outfit is venue appropriate. You should select an outfit that you feels flatters you and that you are comfortable in. Ladies, if you are going to be seated for the night do not wear a shirt that gapes when you sit down, or offers him a view down to your navel. Men, clean hands are a must as she will be looking at them. Obviously good personal hygiene is essential. A little of your favourite scent is good too, so long as you are not swimming in it. Natural make up supposedly works best for the girls at these gigs as the fellas find too much enhancing off putting and wonder what is underneath that needs hiding. The more confident you are feeling the more approachable you will be.
First Impressions do Count.
It can take as little as 4 seconds to mentally check out someone’s face, clothes and body.
People make snap judgments and will size up the possibilities of a relationship within minutes of meeting. In fact, researchers at Ohio University, using 164 new students, showed that after just 3 minutes the students could predict what sort of relationship they would have with their fellow students. Categories included good friends, lovers, and never speak again. The students who only chatted for 3 minutes were just as successful at predicting the future relationships as those who spent 6 or 10 minutes speaking. The more positively they viewed the potential future relationship played a huge part in how hard they then worked to get the relationship to work. The self fulfilling prediction then came into play and determined how much effort they were willing to put in. Obviously, if one party has negative thoughts they will be preventing the relationship moving further. The correlation to speed dating here being that they will not tick their card and adios.