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It’s never easy to start a conversation with someone for the first time. When you’re using an online dating app like Bumble, it can be impossible to figure out what to say or how to greet them with more than “Hey, how’s it going?” or something similar.
Fortunately, this is the 21st century and the Internet is here to help! As with just about everything these days, you can use resources like our list here to help you start some great conversations. In the list below, we’ll offer up 30 conversation starters that will get you much further than just saying hello.
First though, let’s talk about why they matter, and most importantly, why they work.
A “conversation starter” is just the first message that you send to someone when you are engaging in conversation. It should be more than “hello” and you want to use it to make a good first impression. For example, the popular site Tinder sees a lot of complimentary and flirty openers, along with interesting questions posited in profiles that you can answer. Bumble is a great place to do that, too (use a question in your profile).
What makes a good conversation starter? Well, it has to be engaging. If it doesn’t get someone’s attention, it’s not going to help you get a conversation going. Especially these days, people want good conversation more than ever. That means you’ve got a big order to fill. Here are 30 great ideas you can put to work today.
Of course, you could spend hours perusing one-liners and quick conversation starters, but ultimately, it’s about creating that engagement. If you do it well, you’ll get a return on your conversation and be able to start getting to know your matches. You can be adventurous, silly, direct, empathic, or even just complimentary in your message, so long as you create engaging conversation and don’t just make a statement.
And for the love of everything, never, ever waste your time opening with a line like:
“Hey, how’s it going?”
There’s so much more than that to choose from in our great language. Take advantage of it.
It’s as much about the opening as the follow-through. Even if you set up the best opening line and create a wide-open gate for communication, she may not respond in kind. It may take a few tries to work out the kinks and get the results that you want, but you’ll have a much easier time now that you’ve got some examples in mind. Just because you can’t think of anything to say doesn’t mean you’re not compatible—being put on the spot is difficult.
Even if you don’t use a single idea from this list, at least you’ll be able to have more confidence in what you do say to get her attention for good. Whether you’re looking for serious relationships or even just some casual dating, you still have to get her attention and get a conversation going.