Meeting new people means going on lots of dates. Obviously, not all of these are going to be perfect and halfway through some of them, you’ll know you don’t want to see your date again. But how do you end it with grace, and without hurting your date’s feelings?

Plan Ahead

Your first date with someone should always be a short meeting. Dinner is almost always much too long. Instead, plan to meet for coffee, lunch or something that’s not going to have the potential to go on and on. If the date goes well, it’ll keep your date wanting more. But when it doesn’t go well, you’ll be glad you planned a short date.

Prepare For Exit

It’s always good to have a back up plan. Before you go for your date, ask a family member or a friend to ring you or text you at a specified time. If you’re date isn’t going well, you can use the phone as a lifeline and get out of there.

No Sudden Disappearances

It might be the worst date you’ve ever been on, but there’s absolutely no reason that justifies disappearing on them. (Unless of course, they’re psychopaths!). So excusing yourself to go to the bathroom and then doing a runner is not polite and will obviously hurt your date.

Don’t Be Rude

Never be rude. There’s no reason to go over the top with fake niceties. But, good manners are always important. Plot the escape in your head but don’t forget your manners. So if you’re out for lunch, don’t leave in the middle of a meal. Politely wait for your date to finish before you make an exit. Good, bad or ugly, never forget to thank your date either. It’s all part of the being polite and gracious package.

Don’t Mislead Them

If you know you don’t want to see the person again, don’t mislead them into thinking you do. Don’t tell them you’ll call if you have no intention of doing so. Basically, don’t string them along if you’re not going to follow through.

The Golden Rule

Treat others as you would want to be treated. If you just remember that one rule, you will automatically be polite and treat your date with respect. No one likes to be the one left behind after their date’s disappeared on them. Neither does anyone enjoy being misled at the end of a date into believing there could be a second date.

If you would appreciate a date who remains polite and gracious, even if the date doesn’t go well; know that the other person will too. End the date gracefully, because you know you’d like the other person to do the same.

Not every date will go as fabulously as you hope. So don’t take yourself or the date too seriously. If it goes well, good for you; if it doesn’t, there’s plenty more where they came from. A casual approach to dating will create lesser expectations, so when your date doesn’t go well, you can just take it with a pinch of salt and move on!

Treat your date with respect and don’t send out the wrong signals. Just remember The Golden Rule and you’ll be ‘right!