Most find going on a first date nerve wracking, but with our 10 step survival guide you should give yourself the best chance at success.

Don’t be the ‘Oh me too!’ date

Your date wants to get to know you and your personality so don’t just agree with everything they say. If you have a view about something, obviously, be diplomatic to avoid offense, but your date is likely to respect you more for having your own take on something. Having that said, stay away from the heavy talk as this could end up in a debate, not a conversation.

Keep your hands to yourself

You may think that being tactile will make your date think you are into them, but really the impression you are likely to give is that you are touchy with every first date. Make your date feel special, respect their boundaries and keep your hands to yourself.

Don’t drink too much

Getting tanked up on a first date is a red flag for any dater. Your date won’t know if you are trying to ease first date nerves or whether you hit the bottle hard all the time. Have some water with you to sip away at between drinks and if it’s too difficult, set yourself a limit before you go.

Avoid dropping any f-bombs

Women may love a bad boy, but swearing every other word doesn’t make you Jason Statham. Fact is, it will just make you look like you’re trying to be cool…

Keep the CV to a minimum

You may well be a very successful individual with an impressive CV to boot, but you are not at an interview. It is likely you are doing this to impress your date out of insecurity. Dropping a few too many promotion stories is just likely to get a little annoying.

Listen

Have you ever walked away from a date feeling like you know very little about the person you have been sitting with for the past few hours. That may well be because you were so intent on telling your stories and promoting yourself that you forgot to actually listen. Two way conversation requires listening, so make sure you do!

Don’t try to prove yourself

Your date wants to get to know YOU; not your ideal self. Don’t try and portray yourself as the perfect guy/girl because chances are you are a unique individual with enticing flaws that your date will enjoy learning about!

Use the environment and venue to your advantage

With NOW Dating you will be attending great venues across the city so there should be plenty to talk about. Restaurants, cafes, bars and entertainment venues are getting more and more interesting and niche; use this to your advantage if you’re struggling for conversation. There are probably plenty of quirks about the venue that you both appreciate – talk about them and find out how much you have in common!

Get off your phone

This may seem ironic given we are a dating app, but the whole idea behind NOW dating is to facilitate REAL LIFE dates. Don’t sit on your phone the whole way through, even the odd text could be deemed as rude. Take an interest in your date and not the trending topics on twitter.

Relax

If you can’t do any of the above, do this. First date jitters are inevitable, but just try and relax. Your date is probably just as nervous as you, but don’t overthink it; the worst thing that can happen is you get some great dating experience for your next date!