By Randi Mack
One of the biggest problems with dating is that it eats up at your time. Even if you manage to have a good first date, it may be three dates in before they unceremoniously shove their tongue down your throat as you were commenting on the well-done but subtle graphic art of your local coffee shop. I began to wonder for myself, how do I screen out bad matches on the first date, thereby eliminating a significant portion of this drudgery?
The problem with first dates, is most people are on their best behavior and have a lot of sequences planned out. You need to know how a person responds to the unexpected, to remove them immediately from their thought-out lines, purposeful compliments, and swing them back into their base persona. Most people can hold it together for three dates, so you have to introduce something to the equation that is new and surprising.
This is where Orange Theory comes in. At some point in the date, tell them you brought them a gift. Don’t give it to them right away. Let them think about it, let them imagine a gift in their minds. This is key to allow for the full effect. And when the time is right, present it, wrapped up poorly, maybe with the tiniest bow you could find, a giant orange.
And when I say giant, I am talking Navel. Get the largest juiciest orange you can find and watch their face carefully as they unwrap it. Look at their first emotions as they flicker on their face and see as they try unsuccessfully to understand what’s happening. Some will laugh, some will be disappointed, others will unleash their suspicious paranoid thoughts about you and call you “a weirdo.” Do not fear these responses. They give you all the information you need.
Now I get it, you may not be an orange person. You could be more of a mango, or an apricot, but seriously consider this method. Oranges are easily identifiable, can be uncomfortably big to hold after the initial shock has worn off, is bad at rhyming, and is a good snack. And who knows, you might just peel back some layers.
