I bet you spent some time choosing an outfit, deciding how you’d style your hair and how you’d do your makeup, especially what color of kiss-proof lipstick to buy.

But how much time did you spend thinking about what you were going to talk about? Yes, you want to wow him (or her) with your amazing sexy self, but you can’t stop there. What will you talk about?

There are several methods to approach date preparation. Here are a few:

The Job Interview Date

You wouldn’t walk into an interview without a few carefully rehearsed stories. You know exactly what you will say if you’re asked why you left your previous job, and it’s not “See, there was this bitch named Melanie who would not get off my ass, so I popped her one.” No. You will instead talk about how you no longer felt challenged in that position, or other such rot.

It’s the same for dating. Have a few questions prepared to ask your date, and have good answers of your own ready, too.

The Press Conference Date

Get your talking points ready. Pretend you are a spokeswoman for a company, and stick to your talking points. It doesn’t matter what he asks you. Stay on message.

If he asks whether you like Chinese food: “I’m really just looking for friendship right now.” If he asks whether you have been to a certain bar before: “Honesty is very important to me.” If he asks what kind of music you enjoy: “I won’t do that without a condom.”

The Running for Office Date

You know how a candidate running for office will always have a few little homespun stories to tell, usually about how their daddy taught them the value of hard work? Have some stories ready that you feel best represent you and what you’re all about. If any of your stories start out with “This one time, I was drinking,” get new stories. 

The Police Interrogation Date

Have you dated some major losers? Do you wish to avoid doing so again? Get the hard questions out of the way right up front. Ask questions designed to reveal whether this guy is even worth dating. “In what ways were you an asshole to your last girlfriend?”

The Oh-You-Really-Want-To-Do-This Date

Wait, you really do want to have a successful date? Sorry. Let’s be serious for a minute. Here are some questions you can actually ask:

No, don’t conduct an interview, but if your conversation gets stuck, try a few of these and see if they can get you un-stuck. The best kind of date is the one in which the conversation flows like cheap wine. But it can take a few minutes (and perhaps a good stiff drink) to get you there. Happy dating!

Sophia Sinclair is Curvicality’s sex and relationships writer and the author of the Small-Town Secrets romance series, available on Amazon. Reach Sophia at sophia@curvicality.com.