Hi everyone, I have been using the FDS strategies for a while now, and most of it has been very helpful. Anything I struggled with, I eventually got better at with more practice. However, there are a few areas I keep running into the same issues and would appreciate some more in depth advice.

  1. Letting him do most of the talking: I ask questions and let him do most of the talking, however, a few times I have had a date say "I feel like I'm talking too much" or "You're good at keeping your answers brief" etc. Part of me thinks this may be a good sign, as it shows the man is aware of others and wants to include them in on the conversation, compared to LVM who just will not shut up. However, I do want them to keep talking on the first date since this is essentially a vetting session. How can I keep him talking more naturally? How can I make it less obvious of what I am doing?

  2. What do I say when a man asks if I'm dating more than one person? I'm a busy woman, so I date multiple men during the vetting process. Some guys have asked this question point blank, but there have also been times when it came up organically and they were just curious. I always feel like I handle this question very poorly, it always comes across as awkward, even when I try to be confident sounding. I'm just wondering what is a good response that will answer the question while also allowing us to quickly move on from the topic?

  3. Saying goodbye at the end of the date: I'm great at keeping our date at 1 hour and then ending it, but it's the actual goodbye part that I find awkward. This may be dumb, but wtf should I do? Shaking hands seems weird and too informal (Not to mention, covid concerns), and I also don't really want to give a hug to someone I just met, even if the date was good. No matter what, I always feel like I make it awkward. Can someone please give me a way to end the date on a good and non-awkward note?

Thank you!