How to show that you’re a catch

Here are certain things you can mention that will let you impress your date, without a doubt, and will add some heft to casual first-date small talk. Here are five topics to tackle and how to artfully bring them up.

1. Whatever you’re passionate about. Maybe it’s your love of art and culture. Or history. Or tropical bird-watching. Anything, in fact, except celebrities and what’s on TV. You want to show that you do things in your spare time that enrich you as a person, not just sit on the sofa with Us Weekly. Spend those early dates getting to know the important facts about each other; specifically, the passions that make each of you tick and distinguish you from the other single folk out there.

2. Your family values. It can be a big plus to let your date know that your family is important to you, but that they don’t run your life. Share a story that describes your family in context.

3. Community service. If you’re active in community organizations that help people in any way, this is definitely something to bring up on a first date. Of course, bragging about giving lots of money to charities... well, that’s just showing off. But just mentioning that you do volunteer work — like delivering meals to homebound people, or even just hosting events for a local professional organization — shows a sense of humanity that’s an indisputable selling point.

4. Your ability to laugh at yourself. This one’s less about saying one particular thing and more about having a lighthearted tone. “Everyone has faults, and to be able to laugh at them is charming,” says Humphrey. “It’s always great to give a funny story about something you did to embarrass yourself — like my going up to Eva Longoria at a TV event and mistaking her for someone else.”