The Dating App Icebreaker That Always Works, According To An Expert

If there's one thing that almost everyone can agree on, it's that modern dating can be a thoroughly harrowing experience. Finding your other half seems to require joining a dating app (or five) to navigate through the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in your city, and it's a process that can feel like a futile effort. Luckily, there are experts out there who have made it their life's mission to alleviate some of the stress of dating and give some of the best insider tips out there to hopeful singles on their quest for love. One of those experts is Roark, a Los Angeles-based podcaster who takes deep dives into some common dating struggles alongside her co-host, Ali, every Monday morning, according to the Finding Mr. Height website.

Ali is a professional dating coach, while Roark has logged 10,000 hours on the frontlines of the dating scene in Los Angeles, which has given her a wealth of knowledge she is eager to share with listeners. According to Ali, her friends regularly claim that she is a "good dater." Recently, the duo tackled one of the most common issues when it comes to dating: breaking this ice when you're meeting on a dating app.

You know how it goes when you're swiping for a potential soulmate on the apps. You swipe right and think you might have found someone with some serious potential, but the conversation doesn't seem to take off. Instead of letting it taper off, take Roark's advice to ensure that the conversation gets interesting quickly.

In a September Tik Tok clip of Roark and Ali recording their podcast, Roark revealed her secret to smoothly breaking the ice when initiating conversation in a dating app. Ali asks Roark, "Do you ever use more generic questions on Hinge?" As a dating expert, Roark does not rely on classic go-to's like "What's your favorite restaurant in town?" or "What do you for work?" 

Roark says that she has "a formula." That formula, she says, is asking potential suitors to give something on her or their profile a Yelp review. Roark approaches this question with a "the weirder, the better" attitude, and has even asked her matches to rate their nieces and nephews! Don't be afraid to try a new line next time you're checking out your matches. If you take Roark's advice, you might just find your Yelp-reviewing soulmate.