Illustration: Shutterstock
It’s no secret that Bumble is our dating app of choice here at The Everygirl. The people we’ve met are better, the features are up-to-date, and Bumble’s corporate culture is something we can definitely get behind. They make online dating less of a chore and more of a fun way to meet people.
Questions to ask
The key to opening with a question and not being weird is answering the question yourself. Generally, I’ll ask the question in one message and then answer it for myself in a second one. If you’re afraid to double text, you probably shouldn’t be reading a dating article by me, as I am the biggest proponent of double texting to ever exist. OK, now onto the questions:
- What was the last thing you binge-watched?
- What was the last movie you saw in theaters?
- It’s payday: What’s the first thing you’re buying?
- What was your childhood dream job?
- What was your favorite movie when you were a kid?
- Where’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
- What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
- Be honest: How many times did you hit snooze this morning?
- If money wasn’t a factor, what would your job be?
- What was a high and low of this week so far?
- Who’s your favorite superhero?
- If you could only listen to one musician for the rest of your life, who would it be?
- Where should I travel this year?
- What do you like most about your job?
- What are you reading right now?
- What would you do if you were invisible for a day?
One-liners
- “Were you on The Bachelor? I think I remember you!”: Our editor uses this on every dating app and swears that it works.
- “Come here often?”: This has the same energy as “fancy seeing you here,” and I love it. It’s quirky and funny. They’re about to fall in love with you.
- “Can I interest you in some mediocre conversation?”: Sometimes you just need something to break the ice.
- Get creative with your emojis: A solid string of emojis can totally get the point across sometimes. My go-to: 🍕 👫 ❓ Get crazy with it.
Source: Social Squares
Tailor it to their bio
- Ask them about their pets: If Bumble was a drinking game, you’d have severe alcohol poisoning if you looked at my conversations with my matches, as I’m constantly asking people about their pets. People love talking about their pets; I mean, don’t you?
- Ask them about where they went to college: People love to talk about their alma mater almost as much as people love to talk about their pets. Asking someone about their college/high school experience is generally a pretty safe way to get a conversation going. I’m known to bring up the solid OSU vs. Michigan rivalry pretty often (Go Bucks—even though my matches are almost always Michiganders #bummer).
- Guess their “two truths and a lie”: Bumble has the awesome feature that has you answer three questions on your profile to get the conversation going. One of my favorites is the classic game of “two truths and a lie.” People are answering this question in hopes that you’ll try to guess which is the lie, so don’t ignore it. Use that to start the conversation.
Other ideas
- Ask them out immediately: You don’t have to wait for some spark or a sign to ask someone out. They matched with you already, so why not take your relationship elsewhere? “Drinks this weekend?” suffices and isn’t intense or creepy. Dating apps are already a little direct, so why not take it to the next level?
- Send a GIF: Sometimes the only way to express how you feel is using a GIF.
- Put them in a situation: Instead of asking a random question, you can put them in a situation. My go-to: “It’s our first date, and I ask you to grab me a drink at the bar. What do you order for me?” Other ideas: “What do you play on the TouchTunes at the bar on our first date?” or “What would you wear to our first date?” It gives someone a chance to think about what it would be like to go out with you, and it’s a good way to gauge someone’s personality from the get-go (When someone tells me they’d order a cup of milk for me at the bar, I know that our relationship will go nowhere).
