I woke up this morning with absolutely no voice. As if I had been yelling or screaming or singing karaoke for hours on end last night. Well, part of that happened. The screaming part. On a first date, in a crowded bar, I found myself having to practically resort to sign language to answer my date’s questions. The music was loud and the people trying to have conversations around us, were even louder. It was hard to hear each other and when the date ended, I found myself only being able to understand and hear 1/3 of our total conversations. Isn’t that a shame?

Do: Meet for a first date in an environment that welcomes conversation. A place where you can sit at an appropriate distance from one another and be able to converse, and not scream, or result to playing what looks like from a far—a game of charades.

Don’t: Avoid going to places that are infamous for their noise or an environment that’s not well suited for conversation. First dates are about getting to know someone and if you can’t speak to each other and have to yell sentences straight into their ear, all you’ll get to know is the smell of their hair. If you’d like to go to a movie or a concert, consider that as an option for the second half of the date and start off somewhere more low key and quiet.