Your Turn
This time we listened to an amazing speaker discuss how she used classic MBA business tools for something that really mattered - finding the love of her life. We also heard our quirky couple Alex and Liam compare online dating apps to more traditional approaches to dating. In this session, you’ll be asked to share your views on the topic. What do you think of online dating? Magic or mistake? You can use the arguments and expressions from the previous TED Talk or the dialog.
Online dating: magic or mistake?
You can use zero dates to qualify leads.
You can use a traditional sales funnel for finding love.
But schedule a first date if things go well.
- Can you vet dates and find right person in one hour?
The purpose of zero dating is to see if you’d like to have a dinner with the person.
- What happens if the zero date isn’t going well?
Make sure your date knows that you have a hard stop, and you’ll need to leave soon.
Online dating broadens your pool of potential dates.
You can expand your options beyond the existing social circles.
It’s hard for busy people to use existing social structures.
People are often too busy to meet people through traditional methods.
Expanding your opportunities beyond existing pools is the only thing apps do well.
When you meet, there may not be any personal chemistry.
After all the swapping and rejecting you’re back to square one.
First impressions matter but they aren’t everything.
The “zero date” is a new concept. What do you think about this no-date date?
Sample answer
I love the idea ‘zero dating’. It’s ideal for busy people because you can let your prospects know that you have a hard stop. This means you can plan more than one and the same night! You have to remember that you aren’t trying to identify your life-partner in one hour, only treating the meeting as the last stage of a traditional sales funnel lo. You have to quality and vet leads, or potential matches in this case.
The ideal of treating love like a business proposal is ridiculous. You can’t turn people into prospects and you certainly can’t vet them in one hour. Qualifying “love”leads in a sales funnel seems cold and disrespectful. Understanding who someone is takes time and patience and it’s only possible if you treat each date like a special occasion.
Which aspects of online dating do you think are positive?
1. Do you think dating apps broadens the pool of potential dates?
2. Is online dating better for people who live busy lifestyles?
Online dating has come a long way. These days meaningful relationships are often made online. Dating apps broaden your pool of potential dates. It can expose daters to a wider range of people than traditional methods. This allows people to expand their options experience things outside of their usual social circles.
These days people are moving all over for work. It’s hard to use existing social structures like family and friends to find a partner. Dating apps allow people to expand their options and find opportunities to meet new and exciting people.
Which aspects of online dating do you think are negative?
Do you think online dating takes away the romance?
Do you think dating apps make people more superficial?
Online dating may broaden your pool of potential dates beyond existing pools, but it literally does nothing else well. You could spend weeks messaging back and forth but find out that you have no personal chemistry once you finally meet. After all that time you are back to square one.
The truth is that dating apps are a waste of time, swiping or rejecting for hours but only taking a second to make a judgment. As if a person could ever be summarised by a few pictures and a simple bio. First impressions matter but the most beautiful things about a person certainly can’t be seen on a screen.
