Icebreaking can be terrifying.
Terrifyingly bad, that is.
Too many times have singletons come across ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven’, and ‘Is you name Homework? Cause I’m not doing you, but I should be’.
In an Internet-focused world where there are plenty of other fish, you’ve got to ensnare the attention of fellow online daters by being engaging, original, and definitely not being made of ‘boyfriend material’.
Looking to snag a relationship but not be cheesy as fuck? Here are the icebreakers that never fail to impress prospective partners, according to some of the most successful online daters.
‘Life or death decision’
Ele, a personal assistant, says most of her successful icebreakers include ‘Life or death decision: peanut butter or Nutella?’ and ‘Life or death decision: crunchy or smooth peanut butter?’
She also uses the line, ‘I like your face, I’m intrigued if your personality is as great’, which Mashable reports usually evokes a good response.
‘Cats or dogs?’
Project manager Alex Smilkov’s prime go-to opener is almost as simple and boring as ‘what’s your favourite colour?’, but apparently it works.
Asking ‘cats or dogs?’, Smilkov told Mashable the response rate was ‘astonishing, perhaps more than 90 per cent’.
He said:
If the girl finds you funny she’ll play along and that’s when you know she’s interested. Despite it being a ‘make or break’ question, her response doesn’t matter at all — that’s just the icebreaker.
‘Your head is beautiful and would look amazing on my wall’
A 27-year-old anonymous advertising professional said he uses one line that throws people off guard every time: “Hey your head is beautiful and would look amazing on my wall. Drinks at mine next week? Bring a bottle and a hammer…”
Honestly, this one sounds like a fucking nightmare that would make any prospective date run and hide. But for some reason it works.
And his lines don’t end there. He also uses ‘Are you more of a chat person or let’s go for a drink kinda person?’; ‘You look like trouble…’; and ‘Does this mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now?’
‘Netflix or avocados?’
Keeping it simple seems to work best, and account executive Hannah does exactly that, with maximum success.
She said:
My best opening line on a dating website was ‘Better discovery: Netflix or avocados?
Which, according to Hannah, works ‘like a treat’.
‘Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?’
Want to catch the attention of someone with a sense of humour? SEO executive Oliver Brett always starts off conversations with the match’s name followed by an ellipsis, and that seems to do the trick.
He told Mashable:
This might look weird but it filters out the ‘non-weird’ people who don’t understand my sense of humour. If they reply with ‘Oliver…’ I know they share the same sense of humour.
Then he goes in with: “Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?”
Unusual, but it apparently works for Brett. He said: “If we share an admiration for pineapple on pizza, then that’s a good start. If they reply ‘ew, fruit on pizza’, I leave the conversation there.”
What about what not do to? Brett said:
One girl told me she got: “I want to paint you green and spank you like a naughty avocado.” as an opener. Don’t do that.
Moral of the story? Keep it simple and don’t be weird.
