Why do people use dating sites? Some are drawn to the sheer convenience of this platform for introducing themselves to new friends. But if you are looking to meet singles in your area with romance in mind, it is all about connecting, then dating. Everyone who gets together online and builds a rapport by exchanging messages will face this hurdle: how to take a virtual relationship offline. Here are some of the crucial dos and don’ts.
Act naturally
When it comes to the dos and don’t of offline relationship, it is important not to change anything about your behavior when you meet. If you’ve been spending some time exchanging messages via the chat room on your favorite dating site, or by sending one another personal messages, whatever tone you have been adopting is the way you should proceed in the offline environment. So do continue to use flippant remarks, or to flirt if that’s what you’ve been doing up to now.
Don’t suddenly begin to change your behavior once you get involved in an offline situation. Simply be yourself and don’t feel the urge to suddenly come across as someone different, gushingly telling your prospective partner how hot you find their profile picture and are glad to see the real thing. By all means, indulge in compliments, but the important thing is to act naturally.
The chemistry question
The golden rule with deciding how to behave when taking your relationship offline is to judge how well you have stoked a degree of chemistry. Don’t be tempted to take things offline if you are at all unsure about your feelings. This will only work if you feel 100% committed to them. If you have any doubts, spend some more time getting to know them through your online messaging service. But if you are still having any niggling thoughts, then perhaps the time has come to draw a line under your nascent love affair and move on to the next person.
When it comes to online engagement, it can be very easy to portray a positive persona by engaging in cute remarks. But if you want to make a success offline it takes a lot more personality. If the spark is just not there, then it is far better to have this worked out before you actually meet face-to-face.
In that respect one of the biggest don’ts about taking an online relationship to the next level is about leading someone on. If you are getting to the stage where you think this person is not your type, then it would not be a much better idea to announce this before not after you’ve arranged a date.
Do communicate well
Another aspect of taking your relationship offline is to move beyond the message exchanging service offered by the dating site. You can be far more candid and honest if you exchange email addresses. This can be an excellent way of gauging exactly how you feel for one another, as emails give you more of an opportunity to be open with what you are actually writing. It is much more of a meaningful method of communication than more flightier methods like social media.
But one of the biggest don’ts about going off-line is giving out your phone number too quickly. At least with an email, you’ll find it easier to outline any boundaries. Once a person has your phone number, they have the power to connect much more directly. The moment your relationship starts to turn sour to any degree, they might continue pestering you.