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"Just in case you single gals have forgotten, &amp;amp;#8216;tis the season when everyone thinks you should have a date. (We think it&amp;amp;#8217;s a-OK to be single during Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day, FYI). And, it&amp;amp;#8217;s also the time of year for the ever-elusive, always-awkward Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day singles meet-up! I&amp;#x27;ve spent my fair share of time at singles meet-ups (related: Forget everything that Sex and the City taught you; meeting men in New York the old-fashioned way is basically impossible), and have somehow managed to put the shyness on the back burner to make it happen. And now, lovely ladies, I&amp;#x27;m bestowing this prized info on to you should you happen to find yourself at one of these crazy things soon. See this dude? That&amp;#x27;s his come-hither eye. He wants you. Now, go get him. OK, let&amp;amp;#8217;s get the bad news out of the way first: There&amp;amp;#8217;s nothing natural about a singles event. Everything&amp;amp;#8217;s on turbo&amp;amp;mdash;your libido, your expectations and, of course, your nerves (very convenient timing, I know). Something weird happens to your usual totally cool, confident self when you know that every man in the room is a potential mate&amp;amp;mdash;be it for one night or until death do you part&amp;amp;mdash;and every other girl in the room can be considered competition. But, these six guidelines should help make things a wee bit easier: Makeover your mindset. While you may feel like you need to scratch other ladies&amp;amp;#8217; eyes out to score, put the claws away. In the same way that you&amp;amp;#8217;re not into every guy you see, not every guy is looking for the same girl, either. Put that into perspective and you&amp;amp;#8217;ll gain some confidence. Don&amp;amp;#8217;t discount yourself. At my second meet-up, I spotted a guy early in the evening who I thought was gorgeous, but wrote him off as too good-looking for me. About an hour later, he came up to me, and let&amp;amp;#8217;s just say I shouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t have hesitated in the first place. We were attached at the hip for two months (until he had to move abroad!). Eye contact is key. Not everyone is brave enough to stroll up to a guy (me included!), so test the waters with eye contact that&amp;amp;#8217;s a beat longer than a casual glance. If he doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t look away, show him a cute smile and nod at him. When he starts coming your way, poof! You&amp;amp;#8217;ve just eliminated the most awkward part of the meetup: finding each other. Think sexy, not slutty. The girls who seem to pique the most interest are those who don&amp;amp;#8217;t scream sex. Try pairing a high-neckline top with a shorter skirt, or a casual tank with a pair of skinnies and your favorite sky-high heels. Make sure you feel good, or your night will over before it starts. (These date-outfit ideas will help you out if you need a little inspiration.) Leave the guys friends at home (gay guys, too). I&amp;amp;#8217;m serious. Don&amp;amp;#8217;t tell me that they&amp;amp;#8217;ll make great wingmen, or that it&amp;amp;#8217;s easy to tell you&amp;amp;#8217;re just friends. If you show up with any guy (yes, even your brother), a potential match has no way to know what your status is. Even if a guy&amp;amp;#8217;s interested, why would he work for a girl who&amp;amp;#8217;s already paired off when there&amp;amp;#8217;s a room full of other prospects? DO bring a girl, though, and promise to help each other out! Smart card. If you know you&amp;amp;#8217;ll be on pins and needles taking a guy&amp;amp;#8217;s number, come prepared with your business card (if you don&amp;amp;#8217;t have one, make some for the night with the info you want to give out). If you never take his contact info, you can&amp;amp;#8217;t obsess about when to call, or if he met someone he liked better. If he&amp;amp;#8217;s interested, he&amp;amp;#8217;ll find you. And the ones that are worth it always do! Have any of you ever been to a singles meet-up event? What was your experience like? Did you meet anyone? And does anyone have any other genius tips for hooking a guy at one of these awkward things? More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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