The Flirtologist's Guide to Dating

For those of us who don't attract attention with the efficiency of romantic comedy stars, Jill Spiegel offers the skills for how to meet and communicate with potential dates in different contexts. And perhaps more important, she shows us how we sabotage ourselves, and how we can stop doing it. Spiegel offers tips on how and where to meet potential dates, how to strike up a conversation, how to ask for a date, and how to comport yourself when you're on that date. She also deals with how to handle rejection, how to know when it's time to move on, and how to set boundaries to protect yourself. All the things you wish your mother had taught you. Many of Spiegel's pointers may seem like common sense to people who already date confidently. But for others, who don't know how to be themselves when the world puts pressure on us, having things laid out in a few simple steps takes some edge off meeting and greeting. And it's also nice to know we're not the only ones who need a little help sometimes. This book appears to be a transcript of Spiegel's dating seminars. It has the breezy, cheerful tone of a motivational speech. Sometimes it's too rich on exclamation marks! This can be distracting! And her merry exhortations come a little too easily, especially if you read the book too quickly. The tone is a little wearing in print; measure your reading time. But if you were one of those kids in school who didn't understand how others got dates and you were left standing, take heart. Spiegel systematizes dating, and thinking about dating, so that even you and I can do it. Indeed, she makes it seem easy, if we stop short-circuiting ourselves. The only thing left for us is to just go out and do it.