Homecoming: I ordered my food, now what?

(I’m directing this to guys, but girls can use this one too)

So, she said yes.  You’re probably going to dinner some place.  What in the world do you talk about?  What if it goes silent?  This is a beautiful opportunity to learn an incredible skill.  It’s a skill that will win you friends (maybe even a girlfriend) and make you fun to be around, but will also give you a chance to really be helpful to people and be a better representative of your Savior.  It’s called Asking Questions.  

When Beth and I are driving over to someone’s house we often have this conversation: What should we ask them about?  We begin to process about what we’d like to learn about them, what kinds of things we’d like to talk about, or what shared interests to discuss.  Not only do we not have to worry about guessing while we’re there, but we also know that we’ll end up having meaningful conversations instead of just shooting the breeze about stupid stuff.  

So, before the big night, think about what you know about your date.  What is she interested in?  What does she do outside of school?  Make a mental plan to ask her about those things.  Just one thing can open up oodles of conversation to eat up the time between ordering your food and actually getting it.  

Example: she plays basketball.  What position do you usually play?  How did your team do last year?  Have you always liked basketball?  Are you going to try out this year?  Who’s the coach?  What do you like about it?  Who else is trying out?  Tell me your funniest basketball story.  Have you ever shot at the wrong basket? (I did :)  And so on.  Don’t ask them right after each other.  Hopefully, one or two questions and things will roll naturally.  And, hopefully…she’ll ask you questions too!