Some people might argue that the first 10 hours are just as awkward. Those people are right if you don’t initially break the ice the right way. Really, what you need to do is thaw the ice. Here are some tips that I’ve found useful when trying to avoid hypothermia on digital date #1.

You’re new

Digital dating might be the latest trend for meeting singles in your area, but it shouldn’t be the standard. Say you’re new to the right swipe world. Even if you’re not. A little white lie never killed anyone. In fact, it’s how most marriages are formed...and unformed.

You know people

Everybody loves a success story. People don’t always trust that a Hinge date could turn into a relationship. As scary as it is, it could Happn. See what I did there?

Spark up a conversation about how your roommate is in a relationship that started on Tinder. Or how your best friend found their high school crush on Ok Cupid and they sailed away to Fiji to elope and eternally massage each other naked in the sand. Feel free to use that exact story on your next date.

Everyone’s doing it

You’re probably at a bar on your date. Guess who else is there? Lots of other people on dates. Point ‘em out. Not with your finger, but with your conversation. It’s fun to people watch. It’s even more fun to talk about it. “Look at those two. Oh, she’s a hand talker. Bet she could take him down in the Octagon.”

Speaking of bets...

Competition is good. Especially if both competitors win. A bet that can be accomplished during the date is good. But a bet that can only be validated by a follow up date is better. A bet with a kiss prize is obviously best.

DON’T...

-       Take your pants off. This one should be pretty obvious, but sometimes bars can get unusually warm and you can get irrational.

-       Expect anything sexual on the first date. The trust barrier on a digital date can be seen from space. The objective on the first date should be to gently lower the drawbridge and walk with swagger onto date numero dos.

-       Share your hopes and dreams. It’s a first date. There’s a slim chance that the person sitting across from you is a psychiatrist. Even if they are, there’s an even slimmer chance they want to to hear about your dream journal. You know that dream where you were riding Puff the Magic Dragon to work instead of the subway? Keep it to yourself despite your heroic avoidance of rush-hour subway sweat.

-       Discuss what to name your future children. Tom and Jerry obviously. Boy or girl, doesn’t matter.

-       Tell them this is your 1,000^th Tinder date. It’s not like you’re going to win a prize. A thousand dates? You need to get tested for both disease and insanity. Actually, there’s your prize..getting confirmation that you’re crazier than Beetlejuice after snorting Pixy Stix.

-       Get drunk and talk in circles.

-       Get drunk and talk in circles.

Oops. Maybe I’ve had one too many. That’s awkward.