Dating made easy (peasy)
So you’ve taken the plunge and created your online dating profile. The next step is chatting to a potential interest but how do you go about striking up a conversation online? Talking to people over the internet is a bit different to a face-to-face interaction. You don’t have the facial and body indicators of how it’s going so there are just a few things to be mindful of. There’s nothing to worry about, though, with our handy tips you’ll soon be an expert.
Show interest
Don’t use a generic message to contact a potential date. Anybody who has been on a dating site long enough will see right through them. Write a personal message and reference any information in their profile that struck your fancy. Anything on their profile is information they are happy to share online so asking about it shows you are genuinely interested and took the time to get to know them.
Keep conversation light
Once you start chatting, limit the conversation to general and light topics such as hobbies, movies, music and sports. Chatting online should be fun and when you are just getting to know somebody subjects like politics are best avoided. These serious subjects are important to talk about if the relationship progresses but are better left to a face to face chat.
Avoid personal talk
Don’t ask very personal questions and don’t reveal anything too personal either. While there are many wonderful and sincere people online, there are unfortunately some bad people as well. Remember to protect yourself. As a rule, never reveal your full name, address, number and especially any financial information like bank or credit card details. If the person you are chatting too is pushy about any of this information, stop communicating with them.
Tell the truth
It might be tempting to embellish the truth to make a good impression but honesty is always the best policy. If you ever want to progress the conversation to offline, any dishonesty will catch up with you eventually.
Don’t overload
You are just getting to know somebody so don’t inundate them with lots of emails or messages. Naturally if the conversation is going back and forth then by all means keep going! But if you are in the initial stages, you don’t want to frighten somebody off with an inbox full of emails.
With that in mind, it is also a good idea to keep your messages short and simple. Reading a novel-length email is exhausting and might come across as too keen. A good rule is keeping messages to one or two short paragraphs. Leave the long chats to an in person date.
Careful with humour
Unlike face to face interactions where we can tell when someone is joking by their tone, expression or body language, online chatting does not have that option. When you don’t know much about somebody especially what their sense of humour may be, be careful of how jokes and sarcasm might come across. That is not to say you shouldn’t add humour into your conversations. Humour is a great way of establishing a connection but just make sure it is clear you are telling a joke!
Check spelling
Bad grammar and typos can detract from the sincerity and charm of your messages. You always want to put your best foot forward so just make sure you double check your messages and emails for any typos or errors.
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