It would be nice to say that when you go on a date, especially your first date, that you should just be yourself and everything else will fall into place. However, in solely practical terms, that just isn’t the case. Dating is a game of chess, where each half of the pair concerned is digging, delving, and prying at every opportunity in order to reveal any less than desirable traits in the other while all the time maintaining their own shield of respectability.
Hence, the importance of managing how you present yourself is paramount, and any slip ups in your delivered persona can bring the whole evening crashing to a sudden and irretrievable end.
What NOT to do – Immature dating habits that ruin a date
So, where to start. The list of “don’ts” on a date is huge and often entirely down to a good old-fashioned helping of common sense. However, that particular quality seems to be somewhat in short supply nowadays, and a little helping hand in arriving at the sensible solution might not go too far amiss for some of us.
And that of course, dear readers, is where LovePanky comes in. So, read on for our top-ten list of immature dating habits that, if you are occasionally guilty of, need to be sent packing.
#1 Dressing down. Some people think it’s their God-given right to dress how they normally do when attending a date, even if that means donning their egg-stained T-shirts and stinking old sneakers. However, all this does is show how immature and petulant you are, and entirely unable to compromise in order to make the better impression.
#2 El conquistador. When you’re out on a night with your friends, being unashamedly drunk and rowdy, then that is one example of an occasion when it’s okay to bring up former conquests. However, being on a date and going through your list of former bedfellows, mistakenly laboring under the belief that you’re somehow impressing them, is not only unwarranted but downright idiotic.
The only thing you’ll achieve from this course of dialogue is the sight of your date hastily retreating to the nearest exit. [Read: 12 toxic dating habits you probably think is normal]
#3 Being flashy. There is every chance in the world that the person you’re dating will be interested to hear about your successes at work and otherwise. However, there is a big difference between revealing a little about yourself and thrusting it in their face at every given opportunity. Revving up your Porsche or pulling out a bundle of bills is crass, silly, and highly immature. And if the person you’re dating is impressed by all that, then you can bet that it’s not your dazzling personality they’re after!
#4 Bodily functions. It personally amazes me that this ever has to be mentioned at all – but it most certainly does. The complaint frequently arises among daters that their partner felt it necessary, during the course of the evening, to let rip a tumultuous belch or trouser trump. And before you start looking all smug, ladies, guys are NOT the only guilty parties when it comes to this particularly felonious faux pas.
If you need, at any point, to eject gas from any orifice, then do please make your excuses and flee for the toilet, posthaste. To share them with all and sunder in your immediate vicinity is rude, inconsiderate, and downright disgusting.
#5 Lateness. Some among us, especially certain ladies, feel it is fine to be late to a date. Being fashionably late has always been the prerogative of the female, and most gentlemen will accept it – within reason. Ten or fifteen minutes maybe.
But half an hour or more not only starts to smack of rudeness but also wastes time that could be spent enjoying each other’s company. For gents though, any amount of lateness is unacceptable as a woman should never have to enter a bar or restaurant and be on her own. And if you do leave her there twiddling her thumbs, then don’t expect a callback. [Read: 18 things you have to avoid doing on a first date]
#6 Boozing. Having a drink on a date is fine. It loosens the tongue, makes you both feel relaxed, and aids the free flow of conversation. Guzzling it down your throat, however, is entirely unacceptable. It makes you talk too much and too loudly, and it causes you to become repetitive and boring. Not the way to impress.
#7 Wandering tongue. A good date consists of a regular flow of mutually involved conversation. Nothing is more likely to turn your partner sour than letting your tongue take over and chatting continuously, without pause, until it’s time to go home. People like to listen and be listened to, and hogging the conversation in its entirety is likely to lead to an early night. [Read: 14 signs you’re ruing your dates without realizing it]
#8 Wandering eyes. You’re on a date with someone you are supposedly expressing an interest in taking things further with, and yet your eye is passing languidly over the form of every half-decent-looking specimen of the opposite sex that comes into view. It’s insulting, immature, and likely to earn instant dismissal!
#9 Master and slave. They say you can tell a lot about someone by the way they treat people: receptionists, waiters, bartenders, and the like. Yet, some people think they can impress their partner for the evening by throwing their weight around and treating the staff, at whichever establishment they are frequenting, with utter disregard.
NEWSFLASH – this kind of behavior isn’t going to impress anyone. All it’s going to do is convince them that you’re a bully, and that once familiarity creeps in, they will experience similar treatment from you. Not a particularly motivating reason to move things forward. [Read: 8 dating attitudes that push potential partners away]
#10 Gluttony. If you’re going for a meal together, then do mind your table manners, and also do not treat the occasion like a prisoner on death row indulging in their last meal. It’s such a turn off to see someone shoving food into their mouth and ordering half the available menu in one sitting. If you do have an inordinately large appetite, then have something to eat beforehand to take the edge off your hunger, and avoid looking like a cast member of Animal Farm!
