Speed Dating

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people…

Singles events: The first speed-dating event took place at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998. Soon afterward, several commercial services began offering secular round-robin dating events across the United States.

By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by hows such as Sex and the City as something that glamorous people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people quickly decide if they are romantically compatible and first impressions are often permanent.

Speed dating typically happens when people go to a speed dating place looking for someone who might be a good match for them. This includes a very quick meeting with many different people and you see if there is someone there who you might be compatible with. Speed dating is when many women and men sit at tables. A woman and a man will sit at each table for a specified period of time. It may be two minutes or ten minutes depending on the speed dating place you are at.

During this period of time, the two will ask each other questions and get to know a little about each other. They have the opportunity to quickly get a run down on each person and decide if they are someone they might be interested in getting to know a little better after.

When the time is up then the women or the men will move to the next table and talk to another person. After each of the couples have met and spoke to each other they will give the numbers of the people or say which people they are interested in. If both people show an interest then they have the opportunity to communicate and go out together.

Singles groups: During the speed dating process while couples are at the table they may exchange information with each other also, if they hit it off right away. Speed dating is not for everyone but some people really like meeting new people and finding a date this way. Many people like this method because they get to meet the people in person and talk with them rather than online or by going on a blind date.

If there is chemistry between two people then it’s immediately recognized during a speed dating session. Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short “dates”, usually lasting from 3 to 8 minutes depending on the organization running the event. At the end of each interval, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to move on to the next date.

At the end of the event participants submit to the organizers a list of who they would like to provide their contact information to. If there is a match, contact information is forwarded to both parties. Contact information cannot be traded during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure to accept or reject a suitor to his or her face.

These events typically require advance registration, often an online prepayment by credit card. However, they may accept a few walk-ins when needed to balance the gender ratio. Some services make use of wait lists when signing up to strive for exactly the same number of men and women, while others have a more “party” atmosphere and only aim for an approximately matching number.

Singles club: There are many speed dating events and singles club now in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of these simply specify an age range for ladies and gentlemen; sometimes a slightly older range is specified for men. On the other hand, many organizers offer niche events such as nights for graduates only, gays and lesbians, older men with younger women and vice versa, book lovers, ethnic events, and religious affiliation such as Christian speed dating.

Speed dating has some obvious advantages over most other venues for meeting people, such as bars, discotheques, etc. in that everybody is purportedly there to meet someone, they are grouped into compatible age ranges, it is time-efficient, and the structured interaction eliminates the need to introduce oneself. Unlike many bars, a speed dating event will, by necessity, be quiet enough for people to talk comfortably.

Participants can come alone without feeling out of place; alternatively it is something that women who like to go out in groups can do together. Because the matching itself happens after the event, people do not feel pressured to select or reject each other in person. On the other hand, feedback and gratification are delayed as participants must wait a day or two for their results to come in.