7 Surefire Ways to Start Talking on a First Date

The beauty of first dates is that you never know what awaits you. Will it be cute or fun? If yes, that’s great news. But, first dates also have the tendency to be uncomfortable and just downright awkward if you aren’t too careful.

First dates are pretty much like job interviews. There is that nervous tinge running through your veins but at the same time, you want to come off as someone confident enough to make a great first impression.

You might be tempted to ask your date all questions running through your mind. However, you should never forget that your main goal here is to get to know more about your date to determine if you are compatible enough and if a second date is possible.

For this reason, you need to start non-controversial and safe conversations that would let you get to know your date without creeping them out.

Here are 7 conversation starters for a first date to help you start things on the right note:

1. Start with a Compliment

Just like you, your date probably spent long hours getting ready. Don’t make their effort go to waste, then. Start the conversation with a nice compliment to acknowledge the great care and attention that they did hours ago. Just make sure that you don’t sound too generic. Instead, you can flatter them with something more specific that you actually liked about them. This can set the tone of your date while making sure that your date is aware of your genuine interest in them. Now, that’s what you call killing two birds with one stone.

2. Talk about How Your Day Went By

Another simple but effective conversation starter for first dates is none other than sharing your day. Small talk is a great way to start a conversation and how you spent your day is a wise choice to begin with. But mind you, you wouldn’t want to just tell your date that you had an awful day and leave it at that. If you do so, the conversation will just end there and never go anywhere.

Try to expound on how your day went by with stories, such as how someone spilled your coffee or how you didn’t hear the alarm blaring off. Doing so will encourage your date to also respond to you in more details. For all you know, your date might have experienced the same thing, too! That’s a great connection there, right?

3. Ask about Bucket List Destinations

This might be far from being an original way to start a conversation but there is a good enough reason why it is included here. First of all, most people just love to travel and even those who don’t really travel that much still got a dream vacation for sure. So, despite not being the most creative out of these 7 conversation starters for a first date, there is very little chance for your date to just shrug it off and move on to another topic.

This question also deserves to be part of this list since it really opens up conversations in more ways than one. Since you don’t just stop discussing about the top places they wish to visit, you could also ask them about their travel style. Do they prefer to stay in hotels? Do they love to plan it elaborately or are they spur-of-the-moment travelers?

Further Reading:

Mastering the ‘No Contact’ Rule for Making Him Miss You

The Dos and Don’ts of Playing Hard to Get

Learn the 5 Surefire Ways to Make Him Chase You!

5 Foolproof Ways to Make Him Do Anything You Ask

The great thing about this conversation starter is that the two of you can share your crazy and fun travel stories that you wouldn’t even notice time passing by.

4. Discuss Food Preferences

If you want to start the conversation with food as a topic, you don’t have to discuss about calorie intake or goals and tips for going on a diet. Instead, food discussions must focus about the foods you love to eat and those that you would never dare add to your daily meals. You can also discuss about your favorite drinks, desserts, vegetables and fruits.

Food is a very common conversation for first dates. The other person will surely be interested to get a good idea of your likes and dislikes when it comes to food, this is what makes it remain a popular topic to this day.

5. Share Something about Your Current City or Hometown

This particular conversation starter works whether your date lives in the same area or not. With this topic, you can learn more about your date, such as how their past was like and what they do during their free time.

If your date lives nearby, you might even discover that you share the same circle of acquaintances or even enjoy going to the same places, both of which can help eliminate that dreaded first-date anxiety. In case your date isn’t from the same place, you can get a glimpse of their own hometown and even get a few ideas for your second date, if things go well.

6. Raise the Inevitable Question about Job or Career

First dates will always include talks about work or career. After all, this is where people spend most of their time on. But, you can don’t need to stick with the same old question of what your date does for a living.

You can also ask your date about the things they love or appreciate most about their profession as this will speak so much about that person.

Even if your date tells you that they don’t really like their current job, you could still ask them what their dream job might be or what they would do instead and why.

7. Discuss How You Spend Your Free Time

Aside from talking about your job, make sure you also ask your date what they do for fun. This is really that perfect chance for you to dig deeper into the likes and dislikes of the person. Do they love to spend their weekends binge-watching on Netflix or do they enjoy more adrenaline-filled outdoor adventures?

Bottom Line

First dates are not always easy and it is perfectly fine if you feel a bit awkward and anxious. But, with these 7 conversation starters for a first date, you can be sure that there will be a second date soon.