10 Tips for Your First Online Video Date

By Melanie on September 25th, 2011

Online Video Dating

Video dating is a brand new concept and very few people are aware of its advantages. Video dating eliminates all possibilities of disappointed when you meet your online date in person. Photographs can lie, especially if they were taken when the now middle-aged person was just 20 years old; and singles cannot trust the text input in online dating profiles. But a webcam never lies; it reveals people as they are. Video dating is, therefore, the best online dating solution for serious daters, who want to know exactly what their online dates look and sound like in real life before taking the relationship to the next level.

Video dating saves singles from nasty surprises and enables them to really know a person before they decide to date for real. Here are a few nice video dating tips for singles.

1. Act Fast
Do not hesitate to initiate contact. If you wait too long, someone else will attract that person’s attention and he/she might not have the time for you.
If you delay in sending a person your first e-mail, you might get the response that he/she is sorry, but he/she cannot communicate with you right now because he/she has already started dating someone else and wants to know how it goes.

2. Remain Mysterious
A video date is still not an offline date; and you need to be cautious about the person you are communicating with. You can capture yourself on video talking about yourself or engaging in your favourite activities such as interacting with your pets or gardening, but ensure that your video does not reveal personal information.
Keep your email address, permanent house address, and phone number a secret till you are absolutely sure that you can trust the other person.

3. Be Generous with Compliments
When you see your online date on webcam or video for the first time, be warm, genuine, and generous. Tell him/her why you liked his/her video or webcam, but ensure that you are being genuine and not just flattering.

4. Be Selective
Don’t show yourself on webcam to anybody and everybody. Send your online date a few videos first and request some from him/her too. Agree to a webcam meeting only if you like what you see. If you don’t like a person’s videos, chances are that you will not like him/her on webcam too.

5. Dress Comfortably
In many ways, your first webcam meeting with your online date is like meeting in person. Ensure that you are dressed well, but comfortably. Even if your date liked your videos, he/she will run a mile if he/she sees an untidy person with uncombed hair on webcam.
You can reserve your deodorants and perfumes for your first meeting in person, but right now, focus on looking good.
If you are a woman, avoid wearing revealing clothes; otherwise, you might convey the wrong message. If you are a man, wear clean clothes; she will never meet you in person if she spots food stains on your shirt.

6. Be Polite and Courteous
If you are using voice chat, speak softly but clearly because you want your date to like the way you sound. As previously mentioned, be generous with compliments.
Keep explosive subjects such as ex boyfriend, ex girlfriends, ex spouses, religion, money, and politics out of the conversation. Avoid revealing too much about yourself, but share as much as you can. Keep the conversation light, amusing, and fun.

7. Be Humorous
It is great if you can make your online date laugh, but avoid making fun of your online date. Tell amusing stories and jokes, but avoid carrying it so far that you date thinks that you are not capable of being serious.

8. Spell Check
Be careful about grammar mistakes and typos when you sent text messages and emails. A badly written message is difficult to read and understand; what’s more, it might drive your online date away from you.

9. Stay Safe
Online video dating can get dangerous if you reveal your personal contact details too early in the relationship. First conduct background checks of the people who interest you.

10. Meet in Person
Do not delay the real meeting. Your online date might lose interest in you if you delay meeting him/her in person. It might also convey the wrong message that you are not interested in the relationship.

Related content: