Hi there, first time thread poster here. 20 year old new guy. I tend to experience mild social awkwardness but am 50/50% of the time able to alter it with humour. I've been reading this subreddit since this may and have posted the odd comment. I am not a native english speaker so feel free to correct any textual mistakes. This won't be a long introductory post, however, so there shouldn't be any.

So an hour ago I've set a date with a young lady for the first time.

I have written a longer summary of myself and my situation but decided to erase it mainly because it is not that important. A more short summary would be: I grew up someplace between blue and red pill in my mindset, "purple pill," as we may call it. I was good with girls in school but could never get past second base mostly because of an unfulfilled confidence and my self esteem being retarded by my overly analytical models of thinking. I think my opinion structures have also been involved, they were altered firstly by my parent, whom are great people, and secondly by society that induced many blue pill ideas and beliefs.

Beyond all of that, my date is in approximately one hour from now. I will be looking out for:

Verbal shit tests, Confidence tests, pressure tests, comfort tests. But I do not think of it as tests so much as probing for reactions in order to learn about a person.

Nonverbal cues, I will try to rely on instinct, but know that they will be inevitably altered by my confidence levels.

Tone of voice, This is more important for me than the lady, because I sometimes do not give an appropriate tone and this causes miscommunications. I have been consciously working on fixing this for months, with (great, but partial) success.

Most importantly, responding with escalation at the right moment.

The only question about that is: what are cues that will let me know when the proper moment for escalation is? I feel that I can figure it out little by little as the night evolves. But tips would be appreciated.

Yes, I have read the sidebar. The sidebar (and other material) have been an immense self improvement catalyst for me. Although I cannot meet you in person via the internet, I am glad that this community exists and thank the helpful souls for being here. Without the info and introspection resulting from my findings, I would have never had the courage to approach women, get rejected, and continue to approach.

side note. I started approaching less pretty ladies first and more average or below ladies (in terms of looks alone). Now I have met a lady who is ...maybe a 7/10 and warm personality. I hope for the best and I leap in expecting nothing.