– What’s your favourite place to spend an evening out?

– What’s your go-to drink on a night out?

– How’s your week going?

– If you could hop on a plane right now, where would you go?

– If you could be any person for a day, who would you be and why?

– Are you a dog or cat person?

– What do you do for work?

– Where do you live?

– What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

– Beer or wine?

– Is there somewhere else in the world you’d like to live?

The Small Talk

The first half an hour of a date is all about loosening up, breaking any tension and just … getting … through it. It’s important to keep things lighthearted, the conversation natural and quite general so you can gauge each other’s personality before moving things on to anything more groundbreaking.

The Harvard researchers discovered that those who ask more follow-up questions during a conversation instantly become more likeable, so if your date responds positively to your initial questions, why not hit back with another related question to allow them to expand? It shows you care about what they are saying and are interested in hearing more. In the meantime, try these as starting points.

– So, Tinder’s weird, isn’t it?

– What’s the worst pick-up line you’ve had on the app?

– How was your day?

– What do you have lined up on Netflix?

– Where did you grow up, and how long have you been living here?

– Who do you live with?

– Where did you go to school?

– What do you like to do on weekends?

– Have you been on any holidays lately? Any trips coming up?

– Do you have any siblings?

– Was there a job you always wanted to do as a kid?

After A Few Drinks

At this point in the date, you’re both loosening up and starting (hopefully) to feel comfortable around each other. You want to open the conversation up to a few anecdotes, and get into some more meaty conversations so you can get to know each other now the nerves are starting to settle.