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Permalink Reply by Will on December 5, 2012 at 11:15pm

Friendship with a spark of romance is the goal.  Be willing to offer a romantic compliment and then let it lay.

If you're like me, some things in the movies would embarrass you to watch w/ a date; don't know about Lincoln.

Consider the possibility of somebody getting cheese or tomato sauce -- could happen.

Doing 2 things is a good plan.  It'll be nice if you can take a short walk in a safe place, or drop by a place for a snack or drink, after the movie, to talk about what you saw.

But flexibility is good.  After all that you may both be too wiped for much more.

Have a great time!

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Permalink Reply by Rebekah on December 6, 2012 at 1:24pm

Skim all Brett's advice

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Permalink Reply by Tom Meitner on December 6, 2012 at 3:20pm

DO:

- Hold the door open for her

- Let her do most of the talking

- Ask questions to show you're interested in her

- Use proper table manners

DON'T:

- Make fun of her

- Be a pig

- Let any bodily function out of any location of your body in front of her

Most importantly: have fun, and be confident in yourself (NOT cocky). She's going out with you because she's into you, so just be yourself. Don't stress a whole lot about it - that was my biggest mistake in high school. Stressing out over it makes the date uncomfortable and awkward. Just take it easy, don't put any pressure on yourself or her, and have some great conversation.

Go get 'em! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. Denny on December 6, 2012 at 3:22pm

Shoot for this 

 And not this:

 And I know it is hard at your age, but try your best to stay away from any of this:

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Permalink Reply by Sir Dylan on December 6, 2012 at 5:24pm

im not going to add too much.. the more you read and plan on doing, the less you'll act on.  read the people above me over and over.. and, youll be fine.  relax, kick the feet up and show her youre comfortable with her and enjoy her.

do you, gentleman

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Martinez-Onstott on December 7, 2012 at 12:18am

Superb suggestions everyone! (Bet you're ecstatic, great feeling when a gal says "yes" isn't it?) Not that I'm an expert or anything, for I too am young (college age) and do not have much experience on the dating scene, but if it helps I can regurgitate things people have told me.

(in addition to the other advice you have been given)

Do's:

Make eye contact

Listen actively and attentively

Offer to pull out her chair for her and push her in.
Offer her your jacket if it's cold outside (or inside).

Ask her questions that interest her (if you can get her talking it will be a lot less awkward and you both will have a much better time).
Dress in something that can dress up or down (a long sleeve shirt and tie works well. If need be you can roll up your sleeves and loosen up your tie if you happen to dress more formally than her. Jeans or casual slacks also work.)

Be yourself not someone else.

Let it be natural and have fun

Politely offer to treat her (Some girls have this weird notion that they want to pay for themselves, no clue why though.)

Bring extra cash for trinkets, movie candy, popcorn, drinks etc.

Optional: if there's a waiter, tip them, don't be stingy.

Don'ts:

Stare.

Check out other girls.

Try to impress her.

Let your mind, eyes or hands wander.

Curse or be rude in front of her.

Up show her (like dress well, but don't out dress her. A first date is very important to a gal and she will want to be noticed and recognized).

Make her look bad.

Talk about yourself too much (unless she's the one asking you questions).

Not to be immature, but don't wear tight pants like skinny jeans.

Expect her to pay for herself.

Don't look at her breasts or thighs.

Be fake

Think about sex

Course once again, I'm no expert and I'm sure there's a lot more to be said than this. As hard as it is not to imagine literally every single thing that could possibly go wrong--even impossible things like a meteor smashing the pizza place you're taking her--just relax and have fun. It will be over before you know it, and more likely than not it, once it is over you'll have this amazing feeling of "Wow! That actually did happen and I didn't screw everything up. AWESOME!"

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Permalink Reply by Allen on December 7, 2012 at 11:38am

It sounds like you have a general plan of what you're going to do. Don't leave too much idle time in between dinner and the movie. If you have an hour to kill, you'll both be standing there doing that what-do-you-wanna-do-I-dunno-what-do-you-wanna-do thing. Us guys hate that, women hate it even more. Have a plan.

When you pick her up, don't just sit in the car and wait. Go to the door and get her. Be friendly and talkative with her parents. Do the same when you drop her off at the end of the night. Walk her to her door. Tell her you enjoyed spending time with her and you'd like to do it again.

Mind your manners. Open doors, sit up straight, keep your elbows off the table, chew with your mouth closed, etc... Women usually don't notice good manners but rest assured, they do notice bad manners. 

Ignore your phone. Maybe look to see who's calling but don't answer it.

Do not text, tweet or facebook or anything else of the like.

Communication from your parents are the one exception to those rules.

Only talk about yourself when she asks, but don't get too wordy or ramble on for too long.

Don't brag.

Don't lie. It's tempting to embellish things in an effort to make yourself seem more interesting, don't do it.

Ask her questions about herself. Pay attention to her answers.

Avoid talking about ex's. No one likes the idea that they might be with someone who's still hung up on an ex.

Treat the restaurant and theater staff with respect. She's not just interested in how you treat her but also in how she sees you treating other people. Use "please" and "thank you", tip where appropriate and be generally friendly with them.

And of course, the number one rule that has already been said a few times, be yourself. 

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Permalink Reply by Jack Bauer on December 7, 2012 at 11:53am

Hopy crap.  That's a lot of rules and regulations to have rattling through your head on a date.  Mostly, just be yourself.  She accepted an invitation from you.  She likes you ... so don't go making yourself unrecognizable.

 

Relax.  Have a good time.  She's as nervous as you are, so make her comfortable.

JB

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Permalink Reply by Oddball on December 10, 2012 at 10:59am

Get her smashed drunk. If she loses the plot, then she ain't marriage material, so just use her as a fuck buddy. Better skirt will come later. Enjoy your youth.

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Permalink Reply by Sebastian Blanchard on December 13, 2012 at 5:02pm

I assume you are going on this date in an an automobile. If so, walk her to her car door and open it for her. Surprised by how few folks I see doing this anymore.

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