Sidebar Questions
- Friday, April 01 2011 @ 10:41 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,512
Most online dating websites offer a pretty similar profile template. First, there’s the self-summary section, typically where you get a chance to do some actual writing. There’s usually a section where you fill in what you’re looking for in an ideal partner - also a good space to be eloquent. And then there are the countless “extra” questions, whether they go on a sidebar or fall somewhere below your “real writing.” What do we do with sidebar questions?
In general, I suggest you make them count. The easiest rule of thumb is: don’t fill out every single question available to you. If you don’t have an interesting or funny answer about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse, just leave it blank. When only a few “extra” questions are answered, they become more important - and more likely to be read, not skimmed.
Laundry lists should be avoided when at all possible on online profiles - but if you absolutely have to list something, it’s better to set it off by itself in a sidebar question than have it interrupt the flow of your self-summary. For example, let’s say you are a huge movie fan. If, in the middle of your self-summary, you say, “I enjoy watching movies, such as V, W, X, Y, Z...” chances are you’ll lose your reader. However, if you simply list a (small!) selection of your favorite movies off to the side, the reader can get to them at their leisure, and the rhythm of of the self-summary is maintained.
Sometimes there’s a fact about you that you’d like to mention, but you’re afraid it will send the wrong message. Perhaps you’re a woman who owns a few cats. You want to mention that you have them, to avoid issues with allergies or cat-haters, but you can’t find a way to include it in the self-summary without it sounding more important than it really is. You don’t want to sound like a “crazy cat lady,” but it’s an issue worth mentioning. Here, using a side bar question is a great way to include information that just doesn’t “fit” in the self-summary. You get the facts out there, without sounding disjointed.
Your online dating profile should be as short, sweet, and interesting as possible. Extra sidebar questions should not be a dumping ground for everything you’ve edited out of your self-summary; however, they can be valuable in preserving the flow of a well-written profile. Use them to your advantage!
In general, I suggest you make them count. The easiest rule of thumb is: don’t fill out every single question available to you. If you don’t have an interesting or funny answer about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse, just leave it blank. When only a few “extra” questions are answered, they become more important - and more likely to be read, not skimmed.
Laundry lists should be avoided when at all possible on online profiles - but if you absolutely have to list something, it’s better to set it off by itself in a sidebar question than have it interrupt the flow of your self-summary. For example, let’s say you are a huge movie fan. If, in the middle of your self-summary, you say, “I enjoy watching movies, such as V, W, X, Y, Z...” chances are you’ll lose your reader. However, if you simply list a (small!) selection of your favorite movies off to the side, the reader can get to them at their leisure, and the rhythm of of the self-summary is maintained.
Sometimes there’s a fact about you that you’d like to mention, but you’re afraid it will send the wrong message. Perhaps you’re a woman who owns a few cats. You want to mention that you have them, to avoid issues with allergies or cat-haters, but you can’t find a way to include it in the self-summary without it sounding more important than it really is. You don’t want to sound like a “crazy cat lady,” but it’s an issue worth mentioning. Here, using a side bar question is a great way to include information that just doesn’t “fit” in the self-summary. You get the facts out there, without sounding disjointed.
Your online dating profile should be as short, sweet, and interesting as possible. Extra sidebar questions should not be a dumping ground for everything you’ve edited out of your self-summary; however, they can be valuable in preserving the flow of a well-written profile. Use them to your advantage!
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