Author

Aakanksha Sadekar

Aakanksha has over two years of experience in building online/offline communities of highly engaged women. She loves to interact, empower, guide, collaborate with women communities globally. She founded India's leading Women's community and grew it to 300k (cumulative online/offline) within a short span of 18th months. Prior to moving to India, she worked on business development roles for 5+ years with senior management teams across geographies in US, UK, India & China. At Betterhalf, she is responsible for building India's first women centred community in human relationships (unmarried/married) space. Email her for any partnerships/ collaboration on Social Media Marketing, PR, Partnerships, Offline events and hiring at: aakanksha@betterhalf.ai

4 most common mistakes women make with profile pictures online.

4 most common mistakes women make with profile pictures online.

written by Aakanksha Sadekar

One of the most common problems with online profile pictures: you show up to finally meet that new person and they look different than they did in their profile photos. If you’re the person using photos that don’t truly represent what you look like now, what does it say about you?

We have noticed these 4 common mistakes women make with online profile pictures:

1. People do really judge a book by its cover:

You’re almost set to explore the world of marriage and in an ideal world all women want to be carefully chosen as the most suitable one by men and then suddenly you realize most of your recent pictures are selfies or you struggling to peep in through a bunch of other faces or even worse, a blurry and tainted photograph! Having no luck in getting a decent man to message you? Is your inbox looking empty? Ever contemplated as to why? We hate to admit it, but it may be the profile you’ve created has a lot of glitches or maybe you’ve been in a relationship for as long as a decade that you never felt the importance to master the art of building a matrimonial site.  

2. No second chances on making a first impression:

That being said, if you’re wearing sunglasses with a shabby backdrop or say half of your face is covered by your pet dog ‘Snowy’, or your back is towards the camera while you’re admiring the beauty of the setting sun- all these clearly imply that you’re hinting men about how you run low on your self-esteem. You’d not ideally want the first emotion he feels when he sees you in person to turn out to be a disappointment. Isn’t it?

An image that reflects your actual personality is highly recommendable. One would likely want to see the whole of you. Regardless of how big an introvert or extrovert you are, be sure that your pictures are reflective of you and your real-world interests.

3. No playing ‘Guess who’ game:

Do you want the very first question to be ‘Which one would you be?’ in a picture that has ten other people. Your inner voice screeching ‘Look at me, I’m social’. I am sure you look great in your fashion show photograph and ideally you’d like him to investigate further in your profile to gradually reveal the fascinating layered mystery box that you are, but note it; he’s not going past your first photograph and he’s not out there to marry the rest of them!

Don’t be hesitant. Allow people to perceive your actual self. Put your confident self forward.

4. Looks can be deceptive:

‘Lark? Reyes? or Willow?’, in a world of Instagram that offers us with so many filter options, one would like to be familiar with in order to learn about it. Enhanced photographs are enticing, but it doesn’t weigh up your persona. Of course, they’re making snap judgments about you based solely on your profile photo. That grainy, low-resolution photo you uploaded from other social media platforms isn’t doing you any favours and if you even think about posting a photo from five years ago, then my lady give your husband search journey a break!

It might backfire if it diverges too much from the reality. So, post a picture without the use of any filters and be brave enough to tell the world how beautiful you naturally are!

5 great questions to ask on your first meeting.

5 great questions to ask on your first meeting.

written by Aakanksha Sadekar

What’s more nerve-wracking than a first meeting, especially with someone you barely know. And while firsts are always considered to be a precursor to an actual relationship that will further mature into something more serious. Initial meetings are also almost an interview disguised as a social outing.

The first meeting with your prospective match is likely to happen in a coffee shop or a restaurant. That’s why figuring out what to talk about the way ahead of time with a list of effective questions and conversation starters are very important.

The trick to successfully anticipate the prospect of the very first encounter is to figure out what questions to be asked and how to approach the same.

  1. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

Some of us will come up with trivial responses but there is always a possibility that you may uncover something profound. There could be new dimensions to your future partner’s life that was never shared through the profile.

2. How much does love and affection matter to you?

This question is fairly straightforward. It is meant to gauge the fact how love and affection have moulded someone’s life. If the person answering this question had a strenuous childhood and a disturbed family life, there could be serious issues to look out for. That will further notify as to how important family bonds are to that concerned person.

3. If you’re made to stand in front of the Oracle, and it has the ability to successfully predict yourself, your future or anything else for that matter, what would you want to know?

A sincere question to dive into one’s deepest anxieties and yearnings. Not many would feel comfortable at the first go to open up, but it is always good to try your luck out!

4. Is there anything close to your heart that you have been longing to do, but couldn’t?

Not all of us do what we enjoy doing and get paid for it! Some of us have unfulfilled dreams and this question is a gateway to finding out what your future partner is really interested in. Response to this question will further help you to perceive about the other person; whether he or she is okay with a simple life or an ambitious one.

5. What are you looking for in your ideal match?

This is how you will find out if the partner you are yet to decide upon is suitable for you or not. Steer clear of topics can bring in more clarity which will be of great aid in every kind of decision-making process.