5 Tips to Make a Blind Date Go More Smoothly

SHAPE magazine

By Jennipher Walters

A Marine is about to get the date of his lifetime. In a YouTube video, Sgt. Scott Moore invited Mila Kunis to attend the Marine Corps Ball in Greenville, North Carolina, on November 18 with him. After some prodding from Kunis' Friends With Benefits co-star Justin Timberlake, the Black Swan beauty agreed. While the event is still a few months away, we thought we'd share five tips to help make a blind date go a little more smoothly - whether you're in the public spotlight or not!

5 Blind-Date Tips

1. Go with conversation topics in mind. There's nothing worse than sitting in silence on a blind date. To avoid this, go with some questions and conversation topics in mind. Good places to start? Almost everyone likes discussing food, music, films, pets and sports, so start there!

2. Keep your expectations realistic. Every blind date won't land you Prince Charming, so don't go into a blind date with expectations that this will be "the perfect man." No one is perfect, so don't write someone off simply for their looks or sports-team preference. Give him a fair chance!

RELATED: Recession-Proof Your Love Life

3. Look at it as networking. Hey, even if there is no romantic chemistry between you and a blind date, don't despair! Your date could be the connection to your next career move, could be a new friend or -even better - maybe he has a friend who is right for you. If you're not interested in a date, definitely don't lead him on romantically, but don't entirely write him off in your life either!

4. Be yourself. We all want to put our best foot forward, but it's no good to you or your date if you don't act like yourself during a blind date. So just remember to relax (a glass of wine is fine to relax, but don't overdo it), take a few deep breaths and be the wonderful you that you are!

RELATED: 5 Foods to Get You in the Mood

5. Have an exit plan. We don't mean having a friend call you to fake an emergency like you see in romantic comedies, but it's a good idea to have some sort of excuse at the ready if a date lingers too long over dinner or wants to extend the date and you're not feeling it. Our favorite excuse? I have an early morning workout planned!

We can't wait to see how Kunis' blind date goes!

More on SHAPE:
What Not to Wear on a First Date
Turn a Hot Date Night into Incredibly Great Sex
What to Eat Before a Date