As a new year has started and Valentine�s Day about to rear its head, many single Londoners will no doubt feel a sense of despair about their own love-lives. The nation�s capital is the biggest city in Europe, affording countless of opportunities to meet someone special. However, many London singletons feel overwhelmed with the different possibilities and don�t know where to start.
Meeting somebody on a night out is a well-established way of meeting someone new. However, while such an approach isn�t always the easiest method for everyone - we aren't all blessed with the gift of the gab - there are countless self-help books and other resources available for those who feel their social skills are a bit lacking. For example, Neil Strauss, author of bestseller �The Game�, a memoir of his two years as a professional Pick-Up Artist, or PUA, recently released a second book entitled �Rules of the Game�, a how-to book for men wanting to meet women, which in turn had women�s magazines across the globe picking apart the techniques in their book review sections.
With many Londoners living busy lives, speed dating has gained considerable popularity. Speed dating involves groups of men and women rotating to meet each other on a series of short �dates�, usually lasting around five minutes each. After everyone has met each potential partner the participants submit a list of who they would like to provide with their contact information to the organisers. As a rule, contact information can�t be exchanged during the initial meeting, in order to remove the pressure - mainly on the women - to reject or accept a suitor to his face. Though it might seem like an unromantic way to go on a first date, supporters argue that it saves time, as most people will realise if they are romantically compatible with someone relatively quickly.
Although online dating was once seen as something of a taboo, nowadays millions of people around the world are using specific sites as well as social networking communities to meet other potential partners. If it�s been a while since you�ve been in the dating game, or if you feel you�re too reserved to meet someone on a night out, using dating sites can be a great way to meet new people and get to know them better before actually going out on a date. It also takes the pressure off making a great first impression.
Ultimately, regardless of how you decide to try meet new people, to avoid spending next Valentine�s Day alone, the important thing to remember is to keep trying � as NHL Legend Wayne Gretzky once said: �You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don�t take�.