Have The Banter, Give Compliments & Don’t Chance Your Arm: 10 Things We Wish Men Knew About Dating

Wouldn’t it be great if all the men in the world were magically equipped with the superpower of telepathy? All of a sudden they’d be able to read our minds and just know what we’re thinking without having to ask us or decipher the many, many clues we give them.

The entire realm of dating would undergo a complete revolution. You wouldn’t have to listen to him drone on about boring topics, he’d be more attentive, more interested and (hopefully) he’d stay away from any topics that are strictly off-limits.

Yes, what a world it would be. Unfortunately, the human race has yet to evolve to the point where telepathy is a common trait so instead we’ll just to have give the boys a few pointers.

Here are the 10 things that we wish men knew about dating...

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A small bit of romance is always a good thing

1. A little romance never hurts: If you’ve gone to the trouble of working up the nerve to ask us out in the first place, don’t be afraid to get a little romantic with us. Tell us we look good, buy us one of those single roses from a street vendor, hold the door open for us – a little romance goes a long way.

2. Listening is important: We can tell when you’re not listening and believe us, there’s nothing more irritating than a date who just nods and says: ‘uh-huh’ in all the right places. Engage with us. Ask questions. Remember – the whole point of a date is so we can get to know each other. So spend some time trying to figure out who we are, what we like and what we’re all about. We’ll extend the same courtsey to you.

3. It’s never okay to talk about your ex: Especially if it’s a first date. We understand if you still have issues, if it was a messy break or if you’re carrying around an extra-large suitcase chocked-full of emotional baggage but honestly? There’s a time and a place for everything. A first date is not one of them.

4. Your phone should stay in your pocket: Texting someone else, tweeting about what you just ate or getting into a ‘poke’ war on Facebook with your friend isn’t cool when you’re on a date. Switch your phone to silent, put it in your pocket and leave it there until the date is over. We’re sure you’ll survive without it for an hour or two.

Put your phone on silent and keep it in your pocket

5. Don’t chance your arm: If we don’t give you a goodnight kiss, under no circumstances should you chance your arm and attempt to give us one anyway. The same goes for remarks about coming inside for a ‘nightcap.’ Be a gentleman at all times. If we say no, we mean no.

6. Good banter is essential: Don’t freak yourself out so much that you get too nervous to talk to us. Relax and just focus on having a bit of craic with us. Pretend we’re one of your friends (well... within reason) and just have the chats. There’s nothing more attractive than a man who can hold a conversation.

7. Flattery will get you somewhere: It probably won’t get you everywhere if you catch our drift but every woman likes to be told that she’s beautiful or funny or smart. If you like something about us, tell us but use your brain. Complimenting us on our ‘banging booty’ or ‘massive rack’ is not cool.

Relax and just have the banter with us

8. Don’t be an absolute ass: There’s an old saying that goes along the lines of ‘if someone is not nice to the waiter, they’re not a nice person.’ Don’t be rude, don’t be condescending, don’t be overly arrogant. Acting like the ‘hard’ man will just turn us off.

9. Know certain topics are no-gos: Don’t ask us how much money we earn, don’t ask us about our sex life, don’t talk about your own sex life, don’t moan about how hard your job is, don’t talk about all the other women you’ve been with etc.

10. Mind games will not work: This is 2013. If you like us, just tell us. If you’d rather not see us again, just tell us. Don’t lead us on or leave us hanging.