The Patterns Behind Successful Blind Dates

The study investigated whether successful blind dates have different body language and verbal patterns than unsuccessful matches, and whether you can predict compatibility in the first seven seconds of meeting someone.

Vanessa Van Edwards and her team at the Science of People analyzed a random sample of 100 blind dates from the TV show Blind Date, coding for various behavioral patterns.

• Date context and location • Body language and power cues • Smile authenticity • Greeting patterns and comfort • Attraction signals • Gut instinct accuracy • Date outcomes

To identify patterns in successful blind dates and provide evidence-based tips for improving first impression outcomes.

The team coded the context of first meetings to determine whether location matters, examining whether couples met in a home, on the street, or at another location.

• Broadness: whether shoulders are relaxed and arms are loose • Openness: whether torso is open without arm crossing or body covering • Orientation: whether toes, torso, and head point toward the other person • Visible hands: whether hands are hidden in pockets, behind back, or under a purse

The team rated both men and women on whether they smiled, the size and authenticity of their smile, and whether they laughed or giggled in the first few seconds.

• Verbal component: what was said and who spoke first • Nonverbal component: whether they handshake, hug, cheek kiss, or side hug • Comfort rating: scaled from 1 (awkward) to 5 (warm and comfortable) • Unique opening approaches: notable or creative greeting tactics

• Eyebrow raise: sign of engagement • Leaning in: sign of comfort and interest • Touching: beyond greeting, such as forearm or low back touch • Head tilt: sign of curiosity • Self-touch: touching hair, neck, or jewelry, indicating attraction or nervousness

Coders watched only the first few seconds of each date and made a gut instinct guess about whether the date would go well, to test whether first impressions alone could predict outcomes.

• Mutual refusal: both singles did not like each other • Male refusal: the man did not like the woman • Female refusal: the woman did not like the man • Neutral: neither person committed • Success: both singles were happy • Kiss: date ended with a kiss

After coding all variables across the 100 blind dates, the team analyzed the data to identify patterns and develop actionable dating tips.

Coders guessed correctly 56% of the time based on their gut instinct in the first few seconds, only slightly better than chance, suggesting we are not as good at predicting compatibility as we think.

• Many dates with the most positive starts, high attraction body language, and power cues did not end well • A bad first impression almost certainly led to a poor date outcome • A good first impression is not everything, but a bad one can be detrimental

Give someone a chance before making a decision based only on initial reactions. People may surprise you despite a slow start.

First impressions are important but not deterministic; effort and engagement throughout the date matter significantly.

In 59% of successful dates, males spoke first during the greeting, and this tended to work best.

The most common greeting in successful dates was simple and straightforward: 'Hey, how are you?' The weirder or more elaborate the greeting, the worse the date tended to go.

There is so much happening in the first few seconds of meeting someone that overwhelming them with a complex or unusual greeting reduces the chances of success.

• Men should take the initiative in the greeting to make women feel welcomed • Keep the opening line simple and straightforward • Avoid overly creative or complicated opening approaches

Leaning in, touching, and head tilts correlated with the highest success rates. The more of these nonverbal signals observed in both men and women, the higher the likelihood the date would end in mutual success.

• 79% of successful dates had at least one lean in the first seven seconds • Only 61% of failed dates had a lean • This 18-point difference shows lean-in is a strong indicator of date success

• Lean in toward your date • Reach out and touch your date on the forearm • Tilt your head to show engagement and curiosity • Look for reciprocal interest by noting when your date leans, touches, or tilts their head

Physical presence and subtle touches communicate interest more effectively than words alone and significantly improve date outcomes.

Females smiled more than males overall, and female smiles were more statistically significant to date success than male smiles.

For women, showing genuine excitement through smiling was strongly correlated with positive date outcomes. Male smiles had less of an impact on date success.

• The more interested you are in someone, the more attractive body language you naturally show • The more confident your body language, the more attractive you become • Body language honesty matters: genuinely displayed interest is more effective than forced expressions

First impressions matter but are not everything. By displaying genuine interest through body language and giving people a chance, you can significantly improve your blind date success.