Planning Your First Offline Dating Meet

Choose a good meeting place. You want one that’s public but has a semi private, quiet area where you can comfortably chat. The best spots are a coffee shop or a restaurant, some place busy enough you’re not alone with a stranger, but at a booth or a table that’s not smack in the midst of a crowd. The first time you meet is how you start to know each other. Don’t pick a place too lively and boisterous or you’ll have to shout!  Pick a meeting time that’s good for about an hour. No matter how swimmingly things are going, first meets shouldn’t last for hours. Meet for cappuccino or a single drink after work. If there’s no chemistry or you hate the way they look, you can leave after 20 minutes. That’s fair enough. Choose a meet-up spot that’s not too far away. Most people cite geographic distances they’re willing to travel in search of a future mate. Do you really want to drive more than an hour to meet someone you’ve only talked to on the phone or Skyped with? Select a location relatively equidistant from where you both work or live. Time is precious. So’s gasoline. Always meet the person somewhere. Don’t let them pick you up. For reasons that should be obvious, never let someone you don’t know see where you work or live. If things go well, this is information you’ll want at some point, but for a first meet always arrive and leave on your own.  Eve Marx is the author of eight sex books. Her titles include "Whats Your Sexual IQ?," "Flirtspeak: The Sexy Language of Flirtation," "The Goddess Orgasm," and "101 Things You Didnt Know About Sex."