90% of our dates matched with at least one other person.
Last week, the people of YXE got out of their comfort zones and off of Tinder for the first ever Saskatoon Speed Dating Night presented by Do Sask.
They met face-to-face with great new people in a casual, relaxed atmosphere courtesy of The Hose & Hydrant.
I asked all attendees to ditch their smartphones in favour or real connection for a night of socializing.
We turned traditional “speed dating” upside down for a more interactive experience by providing conversation starters, games, and plenty of nibbles at the start.
The only rules of the night were:
- Don’t ask about your dates’ profession.
- Don’t ask where your dates live.
Instead, I encouraged the singles to ask each other about their favourite hobbies, food, activities, and interests. When folks talk about the things they love doing it makes them come alive while demonstrating the best parts of their personalities.
Jolene Watson, Certified Myers-Briggs Personality Practitioner of Clarity Coaching dropped by.
She briefly talked about the myth of opposite attractions, having clear goals in mind, and knowing exactly what type of personality you have before looking for an ideal partner. As a Certified Myers-Briggs Practitioner, she also provided insight on overcoming stressful social situations as an introvert.
People Bingo was a fun ice breaker game to kick off night.
I gave participants 10 minutes to mingle, introduce themselves, and find people who match the traits on the card. They had to put the person’s name in the corresponding box or have the person sign the appropriate square. The first person to fill five boxes across or down yelled BINGO!
Then it was go time! Speed dating ran for the rest of the night.
Each date was 4 minutes long. They only had 30 seconds in between each one to choose whether their date was a friend, a yes, or a no on their match card. This gave people a chance to go with their gut instincts. At the end of the night, I asked each participant to hand in their match cards.
Contact details were only shared if there was a mutual match.
Over 90% of people had at least one match!
Of the people attending, 9/10 walked away with at least one match.
That’s what I call a successful start to Do Sask’s singles night!
Here’s what the singles had to say about Saskatoon Speed Dating:
4 stars – “Fun & interesting – great new thing to do to push yourself out of your comfort zone. :)”
5 stars – “Casual, no pressure, easy, comfortable.”
5 stars – “Very easy environment to start talking to people. Host has good energy. Opener game was an awesome ice breaker.”
4 stars – “More single people should try this! Much better way to meet people.”
4 stars – “It was a lovely evening.”
5 stars – “GREAT TIME! Amy was great. A group of us stayed drinking together until around midnight.”
5 stars – “Casual, low pressure, cool people.”
“I had fun 🙂 I hope you get more ppl and it grows cause it’s a great idea and a nice environment to meet people 🙂 good luck!!”
