Speed Dating: Pros, Cons, and Tips for Success

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It WorksPros and ConsDos and Don’ts

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How It Works

Pros and Cons

Dos and Don’ts

Speed dating is an event format that is designed to helpsinglepeople meet and interact with each other. You spend short amounts of time with multiple prospective candidates to see if you click with any of them and would like to get to know them further.

Sometimes, even though you would like to be in a relationship, it can be hard to meet that special someone. The speed dating format was devised to help with this.

The idea behind speed dating is to bring a lot of single people together in one place to increase your chances of finding someone you like. The format involves spending a short amount of time chatting with each candidate, because it often doesn’t take long to determine whether you’re attracted to someone or not.

In this article, we discuss how speed dating works, the pros and cons of this format, and some dos and don’ts of speed dating that can help improve your chances of success.

What Happens at Speed Dating?

Speed dating events are generally organized at venues such as restaurants, cafes, bars, event spaces, or parks. The events often involve food and drinks, to help everyone relax, mingle, and have a good time. However, for people who prefer virtual events, some speed dating events are hostedonlineas well.

The number of participants at a speed dating event can vary depending on the scale of the event. Smaller events may have fewer than 10 participants whereas larger events can have over 50 participants.

Speed dating events are often geared toward specific groups of people based on factors such as age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, profession, income, or interests.

When you arrive at the venue, you will likely be given materials such as a nametag and a scorecard. The hosts will brief you and let you know how long each round of speed dating will last, how many rounds there will be, and whether there are any other rules. The organizers will also divide the participants into two groups: one group will remain seated throughout and one group will rotate seats after each round.

Once the speed dating event starts, you will be paired up with a different partner for each round. Each round, or “date,” can last anywhere between two minutes and 10 minutes. Depending on the number of participants at the event, you will typically be paired up with anywhere between five and 10 partners over the course of the event.

During each round, you canchatwith your partner and get to know them. A bell or timer will go off when the round is over, signaling that it’s time to change places and meet a new partner. You will be given a few minutes in between each round to mark your scorecard and make notes on it.

After all the rounds are completed, there may be a cocktail mixer or a social activity, during which you can spend more time with the other participants. At the end, you will be asked to submit your final scorecard or fill out a form indicating which of the participants you might like to see again.

After the event, the organizers of the event will let you know whether any of the people you indicated interest in are interested in seeing you too. They will share the person’s contact information with you and after that it’s up to the two of you to get in touch.

50 First Date Questions to Make a Great Impression

Pros and Cons of Speed Dating

Like any non-traditional form of dating, the speed dating format has its pros and cons.

Advantages of Speed Dating

These are some of the advantages of speed dating:

What Happens When We Feel Romantic Chemistry, and How Much Does It Matter?

Disadvantages of Speed Dating

These are some of the disadvantages of speed dating, however:

Where to Meet People When You Have Dating Anxiety

Dos and Don’ts of Speed Dating

These are some dos and don’ts of speed dating that can help improve your chances of success.

DosKeep an open mind toward the process and potential partners.Keep some conversation starters handy.Strike a balance between speaking and listening to your date.Ask a friend to do a practice date with you if you’re nervous.Try to relax and be your authentic self.Don’tsBe too negative about the process or critical of the participants.Treat the date like an interview.Monopolize the conversation or stay silent.Give up on the process if it didn’t work the first time.Prioritize participants' looks over character and personality.

Keep an open mind toward the process and potential partners.

Keep some conversation starters handy.

Strike a balance between speaking and listening to your date.

Ask a friend to do a practice date with you if you’re nervous.

Try to relax and be your authentic self.

Don’tsBe too negative about the process or critical of the participants.Treat the date like an interview.Monopolize the conversation or stay silent.Give up on the process if it didn’t work the first time.Prioritize participants' looks over character and personality.

Be too negative about the process or critical of the participants.

Treat the date like an interview.

Monopolize the conversation or stay silent.

Give up on the process if it didn’t work the first time.

Prioritize participants' looks over character and personality.

If you don’t have a lot of time to date or meet people, speed dating can offer a way for you to meet potential partners. It can be particularly helpful if you prefer meeting people face-to-face rather than using dating apps and chatting with them online.

If you’re going to a speed dating event, keep an open mind and go prepared with someconversation starters. Try to relax and be yourself. With luck, you’ll find a potential partner. If not, hopefully you’ll at least meet interesting people and have a fun time.

How to Start Dating After A Breakup

2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Grant-Jacob JA.Love at first sight.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1113. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01113Zebrowitz LA.First impressions from faces.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2017;26(3):237-242. doi:10.1177/0963721416683996

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Grant-Jacob JA.Love at first sight.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1113. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01113Zebrowitz LA.First impressions from faces.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2017;26(3):237-242. doi:10.1177/0963721416683996

Grant-Jacob JA.Love at first sight.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1113. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01113Zebrowitz LA.First impressions from faces.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2017;26(3):237-242. doi:10.1177/0963721416683996

Grant-Jacob JA.Love at first sight.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1113. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01113

Zebrowitz LA.First impressions from faces.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2017;26(3):237-242. doi:10.1177/0963721416683996

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?

What Happens at Speed Dating?#

Pros and Cons of Speed Dating#

Advantages of Speed Dating#

Disadvantages of Speed Dating#

Dos and Don’ts of Speed Dating#

What Happens at Speed Dating?

Pros and Cons of Speed Dating

Advantages of Speed Dating

Disadvantages of Speed Dating

Dos and Don’ts of Speed Dating