8 Topics to Spark a Smart Conversation on your First Date

First dates are one of the most nerve-wracking situations you can ever be in your lifetime. While it feels exciting to be going on a first date, it is natural to feel anxious and worried, too. That’s because you won’t really be able to know what will happen next – if you are going to like them or not if you are going to have the next date, and so on.

But instead of worrying about many things, maybe the only thing you should focus on at the moment is how you can make the most of your first date. It is not something that happens, or you get to do every day so why don’t you just make sure you make it most fun and memorable? While it can be awkward to meet a total stranger and get to know them for the first time, there are things that you can actually do or topics you can talk about to spark a smart conversation and enjoy your date to the fullest.

Here are the conversation topics you may want to try.

1. Food

Food is one of the topmost useful conversation starters. You can hardly find any person in this world who is not interested in food or does not enjoy eating. Even those who are mindful of their weight could confess their weaknesses when it comes to food, so you can use it to have something to talk about as soon as you sit down or before you choose a dish from the menu. It will also help if you have more interesting things to say about this topic aside from the fact that you love eating. For example, if you love cooking and you have some specialties then this would be the perfect time to share it, or maybe you have taken a baking class or selling your homemade pastries online, and so on. Of course, don’t forget to ask your date their favorite dish, if they cook, etc.

2. Travel

When it comes to your first or early dates, travel is another interesting topic to talk about especially when you yourself are a well-traveled person. There will be many things that you could share and of course, your experiences and the culture of those places that you have been to. If your date has also traveled to many places, then you are surely going to have a long discussion about these things. You can talk about the rest of the places that you are yet to explore, the ones on your bucket list, the adventures you want to try but are scared of trying, etc. Just make sure that you also exert an effort to ask your date some open-ended questions that will encourage them to share more of their experiences with you. This way, you will have a deeper sense of each other’s personalities and interests based on how you like traveling.

3. Career

Your dreams and ambitions are something that your date will be interested to know, and that’s certainly something you want to find out about your date, too. As much as possible, we want to be with someone who has their personal ambitions as far as careers are concerned, especially when you are already looking for a potential lifetime partner. You want to be with someone who has a direction in life, who has dreams not only for themselves but also for their future family. You also have to share your own experiences in your job, your passion and the ambitions you are yet to achieve.

4. Childhood

Your childhood is another interesting topic to talk about especially when you had so much fun when you were a child. This is a time when you can share the naughty things you had done when you were a kid, your favorite toys or pastimes. And this could be a good discussion where you both could have a good laugh. You can also ask your date if they enjoyed school or what they love and hate about it, because your experiences are definitely different with theirs. But if you had funny and embarrassing moments you will be willing to share, then go ahead and share them.

5. Happiest moments

If you are on a first date, it will be better to try not to talk about negative things because you want to make your date fun and happy and memorable. So you can ask each other about the happiest moments in your lives. Ask them when they were the happiest, what they were doing, who they were with, and so on. Reminiscing happy memories will make both of you in a much lighter mood. And also, this is a good way to get a good grasp of what makes your date happy as a person. You can gauge what their basis of happiness is, if it is about material things, about relationships, if it is about tangible or intangible things. It is a good way to know if you both are a good match as early as now.

6. Hobbies and interests

Asking your date about their hobbies and interests will help you get a hint whether you share a common ground in a number of things. If by now, you are looking for a serious relationship, you need to be with someone whom you share some similarities with, especially when it comes to your hobbies or pastimes. It does not necessarily mean that you have to be able to do each other’s activities or be alike in every single way. This only means that somehow, having a common ground or enjoying doing certain things together will help you get more bonded and connected. Also, if you talk about each other’s interests, you will also discover that you actually have not tried the things they have been enjoying but you sure want to give it a shot.

7. Family

Family can be a little sensitive thing to discuss especially if your date has some serious issues with their family, so you may want to be careful and start with the basic questions if you want to know more about their background. Maybe, you can ask your date how many siblings they have, if they are the eldest or youngest in the family, and so on. This way, it will be a lot easier for them to open up and you won’t even have to ask questions. However, if they just stop at answering your questions and do not elaborate from there, you should already understand that maybe, your date is not that ready yet to open up some things; or there are things about their family that they’re not ready to share.

8. Movies

It may be safe to say that if not all people, maybe many people love watching movies. Or TV shows perhaps. This is another interesting topic you can bring up during a date so that you can find out more what movies or shows interest each other. It can also be an exciting topic because you will at least know if they are the hopeless romantic type or not, by the genres of the movies that they are watching.

It is totally fine to feel nervous about going out on a date, especially if this is going to be your first. But if you are ready with your topics, you can pick some that you think are interesting and appropriate based on your mood and the atmosphere during your date. These topics are surely going to come in handy to keep the conversation going and interesting.