I’m going to, to be honest, I am not the best at dating. But with some practice and a few pointers here and there, I’ve been able to make it through my past couple of first dates with no incident.
Here are 10 things that you should do after your first date: we call the first date etiquette.
First off, a first date is not an interview. You should never ask questions about their personal life or ask what they do for a living unless you are genuinely interested in learning more and building on the existing conversation flow.
Why men leave “perfect” women: what EVERY woman needs to know. His Secret Obsession.
Related post: How many dates should you wait before the first kiss?
Pushing too hard to get your entire list of requirements filled before going out with someone again will make them feel like they are “on trial.”
Read on to find suggestions you can use after the first date that will help indicate to those second-date eligible individuals that you want another chance!
Send A Thank You Note or Text
This is the easiest way to show your appreciation after a first date. For those who are not yet technologically savvy, sending an old-fashioned thank you card will get the message across just as well!
You don’t have to wait until after that second date before saying thanks; it can be done immediately after if they seem excited about seeing you again.
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A thank-you note after a first date can be short and sweet. Just write down your thoughts in an email or text, go into detail about how you enjoyed meeting them, and suggest some activities for the future if they are open to it. If not, mentioning that you had fun is great too!
If there were any positives from the experience of going out with this person after only one evening together then it won’t hurt to mention them here as well. For example: “I’m glad we went on our first date because I really enjoyed getting to know you. I hope we can meet up again soon.”
If after the first date, a person does not want to see that other person be after another one and they let them know then it’s great if there is an excuse as well! For instance: “I enjoyed meeting you and talking with you but after our conversation last night about what happened in your past relationship, it seems better for me right now if we just stay friends.”
Key Points
- Write down your thoughts immediately after the first date so when memories start fading things don’t get lost in translation.
Send a follow-up text to check in and see how they are doing a day or two after the first date
Once you have recovered from the after-date adrenaline, follow up to check in on how they are doing. A text message with a simple “How was your day?” is always appreciated and shows you care enough about their well-being after such an intimate experience together.
Remember that relationships built on trust and friendship will last. As such, follow up your initial meeting by engaging in a conversation or mutually agreed upon activity to learn more about that person.
This is an example of a follow-up text after the date:
“Hey, I just wanted to check in with you and see how your day was after yesterday. It sounded like it went really well at dinner! Let me know if anything comes up for either one of us that we need to discuss :)”
A conversation or mutually agreed upon activity will allow both people to learn more about each other; whether they’re compatible after all is a different story. This could be as simple as hanging out again soon, going on another first date, following them on social media, or even meeting their friends.
If you want to continue dating them, ask them out again so that they know where you stand with your feelings and what you’re looking for from this relationship or friendship
If you want to take them on a second date, prepare the groundwork after your first date by asking what they liked about it or if there is anything that would make the next one even better.
Be careful not to come out as pushy by asking them outright after your first date.
Don’t make assumptions about what will happen after the first date
Try to be open-minded when deciding what to do next
If the person doesn’t reply to your text, don’t try to over-analyze it. They probably just didn’t have anything to say or they are busy.
If after the first date they aren’t interested don’t take it personally instead try to move on
- Focus on yourself and what you want from a relationship or friendship. Be sure not to put all your eggs in one basket by dating too many people at once.
- Don’t use social media as an outlet for any feelings of loneliness, no matter how tempting that may be! Focus more on connecting with others offline if you’re looking for love and companionship- keep online interactions limited after meeting someone new because its hard to know what their motives are when we dont know who they really are yet.
Keep these tips in mind after your first date so that next time can go smoothly and hopefully lead to something even better than before! Be sure to use the set of after first date etiquette tips you have just read, and soon enough your after-date routine will become a thing of habit.
And as always, with these things in mind after each date, be sure not to make assumptions about what the other person is thinking or feeling without talking through it like an adult!
Additional thoughts:
This should be pretty easy to update every time I post something new on my blog. The only change would be putting this after posts that are all dating-related but not specifically after-dates. Maybe also include how long until it’s appropriate for someone to ask for another one? What do people usually say when they want to give out their phone number instead? Would “best friends” date?
Don’t be a stranger See you at the next one!!
