The Secret to a Great Date: Dr. Kristen Johnson, Date Doc

Photo by Deborah Triplett

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Kristen isn’t a matchmaker. She doesn’t do relationship counseling. Instead, she can help you figure out why you’re not getting dates. Or why you’re not getting second dates. Or, if you’ve been “out of the market” for a while, she can help you navigate the dating scene in case things have changed since you last went on a date.

And it’s all based on science: Kristen has a Ph.D. in premarital romantic communication (what most of us would call “dating”), and when she’s not at her day job, she’s helping Charlotte’s singletons get the most out of their dating lives. “Most people think if you’ve gone out with someone, you have to go out with them again. Well, no, you don’t,” she says. “You don’t have to marry them, either.”

“The secret to a great date is to feel good before you even walk in. It’s all about conversation; develop some go-to topics. Recognize that dating is self-marketing.”