Dating coaches are coaches whose job is to direct and train people to improve their success in dating and relationships.

Dating involves a complex set of social rules and conventions. A dating coach directs and trains their clients on various aspects of meeting and attracting long-term partners and meeting more compatible prospects. The focus of most programs is on confident and congruent communication.

Dating coaches may focus on topics important to the art of dating: interpersonal skills, flirting, psychology, sociology, compatibility, fashion, and recreational activities

Dating coaches typically charge rates similar to that of other professional counselors (e.g. $75-125/hour).^[1] Seminars involving multiple audience members typically charge less than one-on-one meetings; however.

Technique

Dating coaches may coach through electronic books, one-on-one coaching, small group seminars, and weekend workshops. One-on-one coaching can involve counseling and in-the-field coaching^[2], which can involve practicing flirting^[1] or going out with a coach of the opposite sex on a mock date and being critiqued throughout the date.^[3] They teach how to conduct better conversations, how to dress, how to hug appropriately, and anything else that may help achieve success in dating.^[4] Common elements of dating coaches' tips include the need to decide what you are looking for and remain positive.^[1]

According to Joanie Edelberg, an advantage of seeking advice from a dating coach rather than from a friend is that the coach may be willing to be more honest.^[2] Indeed, one of the main points of a dating coach is to candidly point out less-than-helpful behavior.^[1] Dating coaches may simply encourage a person to work on staying happy and thankful for the many positive things that fill their life. This happy attitude will radiate outwards - attracting others.^[5]

Some dating coaches specialize in helping with online dating.^[6] This could include helping people rewrite their online profiles to obtain better results,^[7] start initial email conversations, get professional photo shoots, and so on.

Dating seminars

Different dating seminars can take vastly different approaches to the subject. David DeAngelo, for instance, covers the basis for the actions and reactions of women and how to make that knowledge usable and applicable on a consistent basis; how the human brain functions when encountering situations with possible sexual outcomes based on evolutionary conditions; and how to best position oneself as the kind of man who is attractive to women on a deeply programmed level.^[8] Christian dating seminars, on the other hand, may stress differences between love and lust and knowing one's own self-worth.^[9] Muslim dating seminars may also deal with how to find a mate without compromising religious principles.^[10] The "Underground Dating" seminars concentrate on planning a date and seeming fun rather than needy or boring by trying too hard to impress the girl.^[11]

Stigma

There has been a stigma attached to those who seek help from dating coaches. Some counterarguments to this stigma are that most people have dating coaches in the form of older siblings, charismatic friends, or honest lovers; and that it is socially acceptable to seek coaches in other, potentially less important aspects of life such as guitar playing.^[12] A response to this is that dating is easier than activities like guitar playing, and coaches should be unnecessary. A counterargument to that response is that there are many people who have been out of the dating world for so long that the techniques that used to work for them (such as going out to bars) no longer work; and some people have barriers that they need to deal with before they can be successful.^[13] Another argument against using a dating coach is that it is taking the easy way out, rather than trying and failing on one's own, which can bring its own benefits, such as teaching self-reliance.^[14]

Some factors thought to have contributed to the rise of dating coaching include perceptions that people have become busier, that women have begun acting more masculine and men more submissive, and that fast-changing rules of the dating game leave the less socially-skilled behind, and the release of books like The Game and movies like Hitch which have made dating coaching seem more "normal."^[15]

Neil Strauss's The Game says:^[16]

See also

• Hitch - a film about a dating coach, starring Will Smith.
• Partner - a Hindi film inspired from Hitch starring Govinda and Salman Khan.
• Seduction community
• Group dating
• Life coaching

References