its worthless to be nervous for a date. sure, you'll probably be a little nervous beforehand anyway but during the date it comes down to this: either the other person digs you or they just suck and you wouldn't want to date them anyway.

be yourself. if you try to make yourself out to be something you're not, then the other person really isn't falling for you but a fantasy that you made up. and that sucks.

good hygiene is important. no one wants to hang out with smelly, greasy looking people. the "smelly kid" in school was taunted for a reason.

there are some things you shouldn't talk about on first dates. for instance, talking about your plots for revenge against your ex, your current girl (or boy) friend (if you have one), that foot fungus you have, the fact that you like to dress up in your mother's clothes and pretend to be your mom, or that you like to sit in the closet and sniff paint fumes don't really go over well on the first date.

don't bring your friends on dates. if it's going to be a group thing, let the other person know. there's nothing more awkward than showing up on a date only to find that you're going out with your date and all their friends and you have no one to cling to.

if the date sucks and you want to leave, don't say something like "oh, my pager's going off. i have to go check it" and then never come back. that's so weak. at least come up with a better excuse for crying out loud.

eye contact is a pretty good thing.

don't expect the other person to pay for you.

don't schedule two dates back to back. eventually you'll start mixing names up and they'll get suspicious.