Acceptable White Lies

We’re absolutely against lying about yourself in your profile text as it can mislead people, but there are some cases where a white lie can be helpful.

“What you up to?”

If you’ve chosen to get to know one another via messages before meeting up, you are bound to get asked about what you are up to.

There are three options here…

1. The absolute truth – “I just logged on to my account to see if you’d got back in touch with me and I ended up reading on Reddit for about an hour.”
2. The absolute lie – “I’ve just returned from my flying lesson and I’m about to go off to go for a run with Paula Radcliffe and Mo Farah.”
3. The white lie – “I just popped online to catch up with some stuff and I saw your message. What are you up to?”

In this case, it’s not entirely a lie, you’ve just left out the bit which leads you to admit that you’ve just read four pages of an argument in great detail.

Did you have a busy day?

Asking about your day is an easy conversation starter when you first meet up with one another. Be as honest as you can as it’s a great opportunity to open up about yourself. However, it’s probably not a good idea to reveal that you’ve been Facebook stalking them and have spent half the day routing through your wardrobe trying to find something to wear.

“Do you like my new shirt? I bought it especially for our today”

On your first date it’s important to be honest, but sometimes a white lie can prevent you from sounding rude.

So instead of saying “No, it really doesn’t suit you”, try to point out what you do like about it, whether that’s the colour, the shape, or the pattern.

“It was nice meeting you”

Even if your date annoyed you, it’s polite to say “it was nice to meet you too”, even if you follow it up with “I don’t think we’re a good fit”.