Video Replay

When I was in gymnastics our coach would videotape us attempting new skills in order to show us what we were doing wrong. It's much easier to correct a tumbling line or bar dismount when you can see exactly where your mistake was, even if your coach has been telling you for the past 20 attempts.

I would like to use this technique on my dates, and would especially like to watch a video of myself on a first date. While I know it would be cringe-worthy, I could probably learn a lot about how to improve my game. Even without video replay I knew I was making some mistakes on a recent date.

Things to remember on a first date:

• Do not refer to your ex-boyfriend as your boyfriend. For example: "I went to Boston with my boyfriend.". While in your head you know that means "my boyfriend at the time", your date is not in your head.
• Do not obsess about being short and only dating short guys. While this is pretty accurate in my case, I probably could have stopped discussing the short waiter and the fact that he may like me because I'm short. Especially when my date isn't that tall himself. Yes, I might have a short complex, but he doesn't need to know that one hour into our date.
• Do not share the story of a creepy friend who repeatedly hits on you. While I'm sure there was a point at the start of the story, I realized mid-way through that I just sounded like I was bragging. Although I don't believe that a creepy hit-on is something to brag about, others might.
• Do not be overly self-deprecating. While everyone likes someone who can poke fun at themselves, I was even annoying myself when I got to the third or fourth negative story or comment about myself. When I entered the bar I felt cute, fun, sexy and smart, but somehow throughout the night I forgot to mention any of the things that make me feel that way.

At this point I just feel relieved that he decided to still talk to me the following day!