Speed Dating: Featured Article
What is speed dating?
This is a formalized dating process whose main purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Basically what happens is that you go to a speed dating event that is sponsored by an organization that you are a member of. At the vent you are going to go on a series of short "dates", which can last from 3 to 8 minutes depending on who is running the event. At the end of each date a signal is made that tells each person that it is time to move on to the next "date". Once the event is over you will submit a list of who you would like to meet to the people in charge and if there is a match then the contact information is forwarded to both parties.
How many people can you expect to meet in a night?
This is going to vary greatly depending on how long the vent is scheduled for and how long each date is supposed to last. But on average, with pretty much all organizations, you can expect to meet around 10 to 12, but sometimes you can meet as many as 16 people in one night. All of the organizations try to get it set up to where you are meeting just the right amount of people. In fact many organizations will have a minimum participant threshold, as well as a maximum threshold. Most organizations require a minimum of 6 men and 6 women for one session and won't allow more than 16. The reason that most places won't allow more than 16 men or women each is that it is simply too tiring and too hard to remember everyone.
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What if there are only a few people there?
This is something that you really shouldn't worry about because it rarely ever happens. The reason that it rarely happens is that these organizations now how many people are registered for the vent before it even happens. But what you want to look for is organizations that offer an attendance guarantee. This is a guarantee that if people cancel at the last minute or no show and there is below a certain number of pairings you will receive either a refund or a credit to another event. You want to look for this because the attendance is critical to the success of the speed dating events. This is critical because without a certain number of people you are lowering the chances of meeting enough people to give you a good chance at making a match.
Helpful Resources: 1. AskMen.com - Speed dating This article tells you about the basic facts on speed dating, what it is, why it works and who actually uses it. The article does not talk about the drawbacks to speed dating. 2. 8minuteDating - The Leader in Speed Dating 3. Speed dating 5. Speed Date America 6. Speed Dating with Style 8. Speed Dating, Rapid Dates for Singles 9. What is Speed Dating? 10. Speed Dating - How it Works |
How long does a session take?
Again this is going to depend on the specific organization, but in most cases the session is going to take about an hour and a half. Some organizations will only have one session, but most of your organizations will have two sessions, one right after the other. The sessions are usually broken down into a specific age range or interest group so that you have a higher chance of meeting people who share your similar interests.
How much time do I have to talk to someone?
Again this is going to vary depending on the organization that is putting on the speed dating event, but the average time that you usually see at these events are 6 minutes. Another variable that comes into play when figuring out how long you have to talk to somebody also depends on attendance, meaning how many people actually showed up for the event. The more people who are in attendance the less time you have to talk. But the minimum amount of time is usually 5 minutes and the maximum amount of time is typically 8 minutes. But you will be told before the event begins how much time you will have to talk to each person.
6 minutes doesn't seem that long, is it really enough time?
This is where you need to remember the fact that you are not out on an actual date, basically you are on a pre-date. The entire purpose for speed dating is to see if you would be interested in having a full date with the person or even just engaging ion more conversation later. You are basically trying out numerous people to find the ones who you are interested in getting to know better later. So in some cases, the cases where you are not interested in the person at all, 6 minutes can seem way too long. But in other cases, where you are really interested in the other person 6 minutes doesn't seem like it is enough time. But it has been proven through numerous studies that 6 minutes is enough time for people to tell if there is any physical chemistry, if they like the way someone speaks, if the person is intelligent and mature, and if they want to learn more.
What should I talk about?
This is one area that people really stress over because of the fact that you only have a small amount of time to talk about things so you want to make sure that you make those minutes count. But in general you will notice that once you start the event things are just going to flow together smoothly. But there are still some things that you can keep in mind to help you catch the interest of somebody you are really interested in. Here are some flirting tips you can follow:
- Think about what you would want to know before going on a date with the person. Many people ask harmless easy questions such as "What area of town do you live in", other ask harder questions such as "When was the last time you lied to someone". But keep in mind that you can ask numerous questions; in fact the possibilities are endless. But what you are going to need to do is to relax and have fun; you don't want to be super serious.
- You also want to try and avoid the mundane questions, such as "What do you do" and "Where are you from". These questions are very repetitive and get boring after awhile. You want to try to make yourself stand out from everybody else.
- Even if you are not attracted to a person you still need to be polite and remember that they have a story to tell and you should listen.
How should I dress for the event?
This is going to depend on what kind of clothes you like to wear and what you think is going to be appropriate for the evening. But one thing that you need to keep in mind is that people do make first impressions based on how you are dressed, so shorts, tank tops, and flip flops are not going to make the best impression. Keep in mind that most of the people who are attending these events are coming straight from work so most of the time you are going to see people in business casual dress or even suits. But if the vent is later in the evening people are probably going to be dressed down a bit to just casual, but you will probably not see torn jeans and holey t-shirts. Basically how you want to dress is a way that is comfortable for you, but you also want to make sure that you look good so you can make that lasting first impression.
Who contacts who?
Once you have received your matches you will be told that you can contact that person. Most organizations encourage both parties to contact each other. But just keep in mind that neither should be afraid to contact the other party because you already know that they are interested in hearing from you again.
What if I contact one of my matches and they don't reply?
This can actually happen and it can happen for a variety of reasons. But if your match doesn't respond to your initial contact then you should actually try contacting them at least one more time. But something to keep in mind is that sometimes people change their minds about wanting to meet people, so if you do not hear back from them even after you have contacted them a second time it is probably a lost cause, but you should give the person a few days leeway to get back to you because not everybody checks emails every day.
What if I change my mind about hearing from them again?
This can sometimes happen after you have gone home and replayed the events over in your mind. So if you have changed your mind and have decided you don't want to hear from a certain person again rather than just ignoring them and hoping they will go away you should inform them nicely that you have changed your mind. You don't have to give them a specific reason about why you changed your mind but telling them is nicer than ignoring them.
