Without getting too detailed about my personal life, I can tell you that I'm dating a lot right now.   I was recently out with a woman for whom I had very low expectations; I'd met her very, very late at a trendy club and didn't remember quite what she looked like, and our first phone call was boring.

She turned out to be gorgeous and fascinating.  And it took a LOT to get the fascinating part out of her.

In fact, one of her friends had told her not to share her academic credentials on a first date - "it intimidates men."

But you should have seen her light up when we started talking about a very obscure branch of physics.  It was the best emotional connection of the whole conversation.

Genuine Interest has been a "people skill" principle since How to Win Friends and Influence People.  We all forget to practice it sometimes, especially when we fear rejection or are too self-minded.

Next time you go out, see if you can get a girl to light up by telling you something obscure but fascinating about her life.

And props to Nick for the reminder right before the date ;)