Speed Dating 101

Speed Dating 101
by Jill Dellamalva

He stared at other girls the whole time he was on our date.

"She had the most piercing laugh I've ever heard. Everyone in the restaurant stared, and I wanted to crawl under the table."

As many single people know, finding a quality date is often comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.

Are you depressed because you can't meet anyone within your work or school environment? Are you tired of answering personal ads in the newspaper, fearing that the person you meet may really be a crazed stalker or worse? Are you fed up chatting with someone on the Internet for weeks, only to find out that in person, your date has no teeth, a wife, and six children? Are you bored with the harsh bar scene?

Finally, are you just plain sick of wondering why you can't meet someone face-to-face with no pressure, and get to know them a little before deciding to go on a date with them?

Now you can.

Allow me to introduce Speed Dating. For all of you depressed, bored, tired, and fed up singles out there, Speed Dating is a hot new trend unfolding in big cities as well as small towns all over the world. Speed Dating has taken dating to a whole new level - a simplified level.

Speed Dating was founded in 1999 by Los Angeles rabbi Yaacov Deyo, who wanted to give Jewish men and women the opportunity to quickly find potential mates. Since then, the fad has spread far beyond Los Angeles and the Jewish community. Nowadays, you can find Speed Dating just about anywhere. These events are often held at restaurants, cafes and coffee houses. You can find advertisements for them in your local newspaper, and even on localized online Speed Dating websites. A Speed Dating session usually costs about $25.

So how does this magical dating system work? It's easy. Put on your sharpest clothes and your most sparkling smile. Then, simply show up to a Speed Dating event. You will be given a name tag, a score card, and ten seven-minute sessions to go on dates with ten different people. It's like playing musical chairs... with a little bit of flirting involved. In your seven minutes with each other, you and your date are allowed to discuss anything except your age, occupation, or place of residence. This is done to allow you to get to know what the person you're talking to is truly like on the inside.

After each seven minute session is up, a bell is rung and you move on to your next date. Following each session, you and your date mark on your score cards whether you would be interested in meeting each other again. If you both mark each other on the card, the speed dating organizers will provide the both of you with each other's phone number at the end of the event.

The positive side to Speed Dating is that if you don't like the person you are talking to, you don't have to worry about spending an entire night with them. If the person has no teeth, you only have to sit with them for 7 minutes. Of course, you won't know if they are a crazed stalker, or if they have a wife and six kids... but a first impression face-to-face will hopefully give your intuition something to go on.

One downside to Speed Dating is that if you are a shy person, and not very confident with making small talk with a stranger, you might find the whole thing a bit stressful. A solution to this is preparing some topics to discuss in advance of your dating session. Making a great first impression in 7 minutes is tough, but not impossible. The key to successful Speed Dating is being yourself, having a sense of humor, and just having fun it.

No matter where you are from or what type of person you are, you will encounter a room full of people, some who have the same feelings about dating as you. And with Speed Dating, you may just be able to find that right person in the nick of time.

Jill Dellamalva writes for Singles Dating 247.com - If you are single and looking for love then this is the site for you. Articles, Reviews and Links to the best sites on the Internet and the DrDating Forum - a forum for people looking for help in love, relationships and dating.