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" A few years ago, Internet dating seemed like a gift from the matchmaking gods. Where else could a single chick gain access to a gazillion eligible bachelors? Fast-forward to 2010: With so many men misrepresenting themselves online (&amp;quot;Oh, did I say 6 feet 2? I meant 5 feet 6&amp;quot;), women are burning out on the Internet mating game.  These days, more and more women are adhering to the &amp;quot;everything old is new again&amp;quot; adage and relying more on being set up. Though blind dates can yield blissful results, there&amp;#039;s also the potential for a real bust. &amp;quot;Often, friends or family will just fix up two people because they&amp;#039;re both young and single, without really taking into account whether they&amp;#039;re compatible,&amp;quot; says psychologist Edward A. Dreyfus, PhD, author of Someone Right for You. &amp;quot;In order to be successfully matched up on a blind date, you have to take steps that will ensure you&amp;#039;re only going out with people who actually have potential.&amp;quot; Cribbing these tips will help:   Be Clear About Your Specific Criteria   &amp;quot;You have to guide matchmakers when they&amp;#039;re trying to come up with someone you might like,&amp;quot; says Dreyfus. And citing qualities such as cute, intelligent, and nice won&amp;#039;t cut it. You need to be as detailed as possible about what you&amp;#039;re looking for...and what you&amp;#039;re not. For example, if you love to jog and work out at the gym, don&amp;#039;t just say you want someone who&amp;#039;s athletic \u2014 it&amp;#039;s not specific enough. Or if you&amp;#039;re a dedicated liberal democrat, be adamant that you&amp;#039;re not at all open to meeting a conservative republican.  If you&amp;#039;re having a hard time nailing down the specifics, &amp;quot;reflect on the qualities you&amp;#039;ve loved in past boyfriends,&amp;quot; suggests Dreyfus. &amp;quot;You can even think about your friends&amp;#039; boyfriends&amp;#039; admirable traits.&amp;quot; And corny as it sounds, if you need help getting all of your thoughts organized, write it all down on a list for yourself.  Related Video Don&amp;#039;t worry about being too superficial either. While it&amp;#039;s unlikely you&amp;#039;ll find someone who meets all of your requirements, you do need someone who passes your must-haves. So if things like tall, successful, and great dresser really matter to you, put &amp;#039;em on your list. &amp;quot;It doesn&amp;#039;t make you shallow \u2014 it means you&amp;#039;re realistic about who will actually pique your interest,&amp;quot; says dating agent David Wygant, author of Always Talk to Strangers.     Pick the Right Matchmaker  Blind dating is a numbers game. The more options you have, the better your chances of scoring a great guy are. So you have to put the word out that you&amp;#039;re available and looking. &amp;quot;A lot of women are afraid that if they ask to be introduced to single guys, they&amp;#039;ll come across as desperate, but it couldn&amp;#039;t be further from the truth,&amp;quot; says dating coach Patti Feinstein. &amp;quot;By asking to be set up, you&amp;#039;re sending the message that you want to date smartly and see men who come recommended, not just settle for any random guy you happen to meet in a bar.&amp;quot;   Okay, here&amp;#039;s where it gets a little tricky. Yes, you want to network, but you still want to be picky about who&amp;#039;s fixing you up. Obviously, your core group of friends knows your situation so you&amp;#039;re not likely to meet someone new through them. The solution: Cast a wider net...though still be selective.   &amp;quot;If your hairstylist comes across as really cool and you feel like you and your trainer are on the same page, hit them up for dating help,&amp;quot; suggests Wygant. &amp;quot;Not only are they people you feel a connection to, but they&amp;#039;re in professions where clients tend to get personal with them, so they get a sense of someone&amp;#039;s character and dating status.&amp;quot; On the other hand, you probably don&amp;#039;t want to mention your quest to your soccer-mom dental hygienist. Her definition of a &amp;quot;great guy&amp;quot; might not be in sync with yours.   Once you&amp;#039;ve narrowed down your potential matchmakers, you still have to suss out their setup skills. To do so, simply give them a test. &amp;quot;Find out the kind of guy they think you would be attracted to,&amp;quot; says Dreyfus. Ask them to give you specific qualities that they think you&amp;#039;re looking for in a boyfriend. You&amp;#039;re not only checking out their taste in men, you&amp;#039;re also ascertaining how well they&amp;#039;ve read what you&amp;#039;ve told them. &amp;quot;If their criteria seem to be in line with yours, you can likely trust their judgment in who they&amp;#039;ll set you up with.&amp;quot;    Get the Dirt on the Dude    Once all the pieces are in place, potential suitors should start popping up. Just keep in mind that you&amp;#039;re not obligated to go out with every single, available prospect. So screen out any no-gos by posing a few questions about the guy to your matchmaker.   First off, is he actually looking to pursue a relationship or is he into playing the field? &amp;quot;You don&amp;#039;t want to waste your time with a man who just went through a breakup or is looking only for a fling, because it likely won&amp;#039;t go anywhere,&amp;quot; warns Wygant.   Another way to get pertinent info on a guy without giving the matchmaker the third degree: Find out what he does on the weekends. &amp;quot;His downtime activities usually reveal a lot about a guy&amp;#039;s personality and lifestyle, which can help you determine if the two of you might actually hit it off,&amp;quot; says Dreyfus. For example, a man who invites a group of friends over every Tuesday night for dinner and Lost screenings is clearly very social and into entertaining.   If you decide that a dude isn&amp;#039;t dateable, it&amp;#039;s okay to turn down the offer. Just do it delicately. Instead of saying &amp;quot;Nah, not for me,&amp;quot; which may insult your matchmaker and put an end to any future setups, say something like &amp;quot;He sounds amazing, but I&amp;#039;m not sure I&amp;#039;m right for someone who just got out of a relationship/studies molecular biology/doesn&amp;#039;t exercise at all. But keep me in mind if you think of someone else who might be more my type.&amp;quot; That way, it&amp;#039;ll be clear that you&amp;#039;re weighing potential compatibility and not just slamming the guy.    Exit Strategies   No girl should have to suffer through a heinous blind date. Use one of these genius game plans to give a lame companion the slip.   The Urgent Call  Thanks to the vibrate feature on cells, you don&amp;#039;t need a friend to fake an emergency. Pretend your phone is ringing, &amp;quot;take&amp;quot; the call outside, then return to tell the guy, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m so sorry, my roommate is locked out. I have to run.&amp;quot;   The Fake-Out  If you know right away that he&amp;#039;s not for you, set the stage for your escape. Say you&amp;#039;re getting over the flu and may have to leave early. After half an hour, tell him you feel faint and need to split. Don&amp;#039;t forget to apologize profusely.   The Fight/Flight  One surefire way to cut the date short: become confrontational about something he says and aggressively debate him. Men hate fighting with women, especially on date one, so don&amp;#039;t be shocked if he yells, &amp;quot;Check, please!&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/advice/a3135/how-to-blind-date-0606/>