If you have been dating online for the longest time, you probably find it to be high time meeting your online date in person. If this is your first time to see your online date face to face, it is normal to feel anxious about the idea of seeing that special person for real. Virtual dating offers valuable opportunities for shy individuals to meet new people without having to go through the ordeal of having butterflies in the stomach, anxiety and a low self-confidence. By now, you must have learned to become comfortable with your online date and you may take it a little further to see each other in person. When this happens, here are some tips of meeting your online date in person for the first time.
Look your best
If you think you already made a good impression to your online date during your past communications online, you may be wrong. It is your first time to actually see each other in person and it is just as crucial to make a good impression as when you first met online before. Make sure to look at your best and to wear decent attire suited for the occasion and the venue of your date.
Be as natural as your real self
While making a good impression remains to be important, you should try to be yourself and natural during your first real date. Online dating already gives people the opportunity to know each other better. Bear in mind that one of the reasons why your online date agreed to meet you in person is because he or she found something impressive about you during your online conversations. You should be your real self during your first real offline date just as the way you are on your online dates.
Choose an ideal place to meet
Experts in online dating recommend choosing public places as a venue for your first real date. Ideal places could be restaurants, coffee shop or a bar. Public places can somehow make you feel secure and it can help relieve your anxiety to have other people around you than when there are just the two of you.
Long versus short dates
Sometimes, you are in dilemma when choosing between long and short dates. Short dates are more advantageous for a first time rendezvous with your online date because it allows you to weigh the chemistry between you and your partner without putting you in an awkward situation. Short dates can offer you an escape of being with the other person whom you are uncomfortable with, but can give you the chance to determine whether you want to arrange another date the next time. A coffee break or a lunch date can be considered an ideal short date when meeting your online date in person for the first time.
Be prepared for the outcome of your date
Not all real dates that began from online dating end up to a long term relationship. You must have exchanged emails and felt that you know the person too well during your online communications, but seeing the person personally may lose the online chemistry. Make sure to prepare for the unexpected and be ready for a contingency plan in case everything did not go so well on your first date.
