Most people's idea of a date is going for a drink, or even worse, dinner and a movie.
That's a guaranteed forgettable date, because for both of you it'll be just the same as all the other dates you've ever had.
People tend to behave on dates like they are following a script;Meet up, and be all nervous for the first hour or so while you stress about whether or not the other person likes you.
Then for a while you stress about whether or not you like the other person.
Sooner or later you relax and find that you have some things in common.
You start to feel comfortable as you realise why you agreed to go on the date in the first place.
Then at the end of the night comes the all important kiss goodbye, or if you're lucky, an invitation to spend the night.
You're walking her back to her place, she knows what's coming and isn't sure enough whether or not she likes you, so she's planning how to avoid an awkward moment.
Breaking away from the script is the key to eliminating this situation.
So for starters, why call it a date at all?It can be a big deal to ask someone out on a date.
Asking for a 'date' puts pressure on someone to admit their interest in you, but they may not know they are interested until after you've spent that time together.
On a date, both sides are always constantly evaluating whether or not they like the other person and how much interest to show.
So don't call it a date, it's much easier to just arrange to 'hang out'.
That way you avoid the whole drink, dinner, movie thing and particularly that awkward kissing moment at the end of the night.
The more places you can go to together, the better.
If you spend all your time together in one place, no matter how much you enjoy each other's company, it'll seem like it all drags on a lot longer than it really does.
But if you go to several different places you won't believe how much fun you've had together in so little time.
If you really must go out for dinner, go to a bar for drinks first, and have dessert in a different restaurant to where you had your main meal.
Turning up to the nicest restaurant in town just to have dessert is fun, and it shows that you're prepared to go a bit further to make sure she has a good time.
Comedy Nights are probably the best places to go for an evening out with a girl you've just met.
You get just enough time to talk and get to know each other, andwhen the night is over you are still left wanting to spend more time together.
If it's a decent comedy night, the comedians are doing your work for you, making her laugh and have a good time.
Afterwards you can head off to a quiet bar, preferably with sofas.
Never take girls to night clubs if you want to get with them.
There may be competing males there, and you don't take sand to the beach, do you? Evening meetings put girls on their guard.
They know you are angling to get them home after the date and this gives them opportunity to think about it and maybe deliberately decide not to on the first date.
So how about the afternoon?If you meet at 2pm, if anything happens then it's unplanned, and spontaneous.
You're actually much more likely to end up in bed together a few hours later than if you meet up in the evening.
You'll also be less tired...
Afternoon dates are much more likely to be memorable.
Museums and art galleries may seem boring, but that just gives you opportunity to talk, and actually they can be very inspiring places.
Fresh air and exercise, always makes people feel good, and they will attach those feelings to whoever they are there with.
So walks in the country park, corn fields, along the canal towpath are perfect.
Children's play parks are one of my favourite places to take girls.
Especially if neither of you have been to one in years!You can push each other on the swings, race each other to the top of the climbing frame, and see who can spin the fastest on the roundabout.
If you can find a park that isn't inhabited by homeless people and drug users at night, going after dark is even more fun.
Inviting a girl to go shopping is a great idea, as long as you avoid any looking at clothes.
If you catch her looking at a luxurious ball gown in a window that she'd never actually buy, encourage her to live a little and try it on - and then tell her she looks beautiful in it.
But otherwise, clothes shopping is a no no.
If you're out around town there are much better ways to spend your time, like playing with puppies and kittens in pet shops, fooling around in toy shops, sitting on sofas in department stores 'testing' the widescreen TVs, and so on.
Every town has at least one café famous for its hot chocolate, ice creams, or tea cakes, or something.
Plenty of skyscrapers have café restaurants with amazing views at the top.
A bit of imagination in choosing the venue for your mid-afternoon snack goes a long way.
A final tip is to let the girl choose where you are going.
Girls like guys who take the lead, but write three possible destinations on pieces of paper and fold them up, and then let her choose.
Don't even write the names of the places, just the street address.
She will think this is the most romantic thing she's ever heard of.
If you can't think of three different places, just write the same thing on each piece of paper, and only show her one, it will have the same effect.
Magnus runs www.
bristollair.
com, a free collection of essential dating articles for men.
Related articles: How To Act On The First Date.