More Than Just a Pretty Face
- Tuesday, July 31 2012 @ 07:09 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,004
It’s natural for us to want to give our online dating profiles as broad appeal as possible. We don’t really know who we’ll click with - is it someone with whom we share most interests? A complete opposite, perhaps? - so why limit the possibilities? However, there is one potential problem with this approach: in attempting to appeal to as many people as possible, we might come across as bland. And when you’re bland, it’s harder to appeal to anyone.
That doesn’t mean you should post pictures of yourself in feather boas and crazy hats to compensate (unless that’s actually representative of your sense of humor). However, if you’re nervous, you can certainly use your photo section to help “personalize” your profile and share some of your better moments. That picture of you kissing a dolphin? Go ahead and post it, even if it’s not from your “good side.” What about the picture of you wearing a funny apron at a cookout, or in the middle of a shaving-cream fight last summer?
These “character” photos fill in the gaps about your personality, and also show that you’re a real person and not a carefully composed photo from just the right angle. As an added bonus, pictures tend to stay in our minds, so even if your reader might not remember every detail about you, they’ll remember the pictures, especially if they were interesting or entertaining.
However, that doesn’t mean you should use interesting pictures and keep a boring profile. Photos may pick up some of the slack from a bland self-summary, but pair them with text that’s interesting and fun and you have a one-two contact combo. So what’s the easiest way to spice up your profile?
In a word, passion. No, not the romantic kind. Passion for the things in life you care about, whether it’s friends, family, your profession, volunteering, knitting... the list goes on and on. The subject might not even matter (though it’s great if you find someone who shares your passion); it’s the fact that you care deeply about something that’s attractive. Don’t be afraid to use enthusiastic, positive words like “fantastic,” “great,” and even “love.”
Not only does speaking enthusiastically about your passions show that you care about something, it demonstrates that you have an independent life. In essence, it’s the anti-cling. When someone knows that you won’t be looking to them to entertain you - that, in fact, you bring the entertainment yourself - they’re all the more likely to want to be around you. Not to mention the fact that many find passion of any kind attractive and stimulating.
So as you write your online profile, don’t be content with boilerplate written oatmeal. Add a little spice to your profile, whether it be in the self-summary, the photo section, or better yet, both! Soon others will see you as more than just another pretty face.
That doesn’t mean you should post pictures of yourself in feather boas and crazy hats to compensate (unless that’s actually representative of your sense of humor). However, if you’re nervous, you can certainly use your photo section to help “personalize” your profile and share some of your better moments. That picture of you kissing a dolphin? Go ahead and post it, even if it’s not from your “good side.” What about the picture of you wearing a funny apron at a cookout, or in the middle of a shaving-cream fight last summer?
These “character” photos fill in the gaps about your personality, and also show that you’re a real person and not a carefully composed photo from just the right angle. As an added bonus, pictures tend to stay in our minds, so even if your reader might not remember every detail about you, they’ll remember the pictures, especially if they were interesting or entertaining.
However, that doesn’t mean you should use interesting pictures and keep a boring profile. Photos may pick up some of the slack from a bland self-summary, but pair them with text that’s interesting and fun and you have a one-two contact combo. So what’s the easiest way to spice up your profile?
In a word, passion. No, not the romantic kind. Passion for the things in life you care about, whether it’s friends, family, your profession, volunteering, knitting... the list goes on and on. The subject might not even matter (though it’s great if you find someone who shares your passion); it’s the fact that you care deeply about something that’s attractive. Don’t be afraid to use enthusiastic, positive words like “fantastic,” “great,” and even “love.”
Not only does speaking enthusiastically about your passions show that you care about something, it demonstrates that you have an independent life. In essence, it’s the anti-cling. When someone knows that you won’t be looking to them to entertain you - that, in fact, you bring the entertainment yourself - they’re all the more likely to want to be around you. Not to mention the fact that many find passion of any kind attractive and stimulating.
So as you write your online profile, don’t be content with boilerplate written oatmeal. Add a little spice to your profile, whether it be in the self-summary, the photo section, or better yet, both! Soon others will see you as more than just another pretty face.
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