I was on a date – many, many years ago – where I was thinking, “In about 20 minutes, I can go home, and I think I have good snacks there.”

There was nothing wrong with the guy. He seemed great, just not great for me, and I’m sure he felt the same. Within 24 hours or so, I had forgotten most details about the evening.

Years later I had a date with someone else, and 24 hours later I started thinking about something interesting/funny that person said. That was a very good sign – that instead of deleting the experience from my brain, something about it lingered.

If you feel neutral or even 2 percent interested in someone, I think it’s worth trying again. If you find yourself thinking about a moment from the outing, it’s absolutely worth a second date.

I don’t know why people think they need major chemistry on Date 1. Sometimes I think that if there’s too much excitement on a first date, it’s bound to crash. 

One way to turn more first dates to turn into seconds: keep those first ones short. Do not give yourself enough time to get sick of the person. Ask for a coffee or drink, and schedule something else two-ish hours later, so you have a hard out.

If you leave the date curious, you’ll want to follow up.