Ask your date questions without "yes" or "no" answers so that they don't feel like they're being interrogated. Get to know your date's personality and lifestyle. Does this person seem like someone who shares your goals and complements your personality? See if your date likes the same things that you do, or if your date could introduce you to something you've always wanted to try. Here's a list of questions to get you started: What do you like to do on weekends? What is one thing on your bucket list? What's the best book you've read in the past six months? What in your life are you proud of? "What do you do? Do you enjoy your job?" "What is your best friend like?" "Do you want to try some of my food?" "Are you a morning person?" "Do you have roommates? Who are they?" Give your date realistic information about yourself, your life, your interests, and your thoughts. Your date is here to get to know you. Don't dominate the conversation, but do express yourself as you would in typical conversations with friends or potential partners. Find connections between your date and yourself. Make eye contact with your date. Smile. Practice good posture. Nod at what the other person is saying. Occasionally, summarize what the other person says and show an interest in the other person's interests. For example, you could say, "It sounds like you have a great relationship with your mother! When was the last time you saw her?" Or, "You seem like you really love your job. How did you get interested in public service?" Tell your date if you want to see them again. Get their number and call them within a couple of days. If you don't want to see your date again, tell them that you had a nice time and that you hope they have a good rest of their evening. Don't be overtly cruel about rejecting someone, but don't feel as though you have to give them false hope by saying you want to see them again when you don't.

Summary: Ask open-ended questions about your date. Talk about yourself. Practice active listening skills. Be honest about next steps.

The toasts should be placed on the sheet toasted side down, with the soft untoasted side up. Leave a little space between each piece of toast so that you can get to each one with a spatula if necessary. Lightly brush the untoasted side of each piece of toast with melted butter or olive oil. For sweet toast, you may also want to consider using coconut oil for a sweeter flavor. Place the toasts in the oven or toaster oven on broil. Be sure to watch the toasts carefully, as they will brown quickly. If you have cut your toast into triangles, the corners may curl up. This is normal, but be sure to remove the toast before the corners burn. You may need to rotate your baking sheet so that the toasts heat evenly. When the tops of the toast are golden brown and the corners have started to crisp, remove the toasts from the heat. Allow them to cool. You may want to remove them from the cookie sheet with a spatula and let them cool on a plate or on cooling racks. Use caution when handling hot toasts and the baking sheet. Use an oven mitt or gloves.

Summary: Place the cut toasts on a baking sheet. Spread oil or butter on the toasts. Toast the tops of the toast. Remove the toast from the oven and cool them.

Stack up any cut brush (such as weeds, grass clippings, or shrubs) in a pile far from flammable objects to prepare it for burning. Burn the underbrush with a propane torch or flamer. Talk with your local fire department about local policies and gain approval for the burn before you start. Obtain a burn permit if necessary. Practice safety measures around fire to avoid losing control of it. Avoid putting debris with seeds into your compost, as this will make any weed issues worse. Carbon-rich materials include: straw, leaves, wood chips, dead flowers, or shredded newspapers. Nitrogen-rich materials include: grass clippings, vegetable peelings, fruit rinds, or animal manure. If you own or can rent a truck, load up the back with trash bags of debris and bring them to your local dump. Call the dump beforehand to ask if they accept yard waste materials. Ask them about fees and whether they charge a flat fee or charge by weight. If you removed a lot of shrubs from the area, consider renting a wood chipper to dispose of debris manageably. Typically, gardening maintenance companies rent out wood chippers for a daily fee. Use the resulting wood chips as carbon-rich materials in your compost. Take extreme caution when using wood chippers, and follow the machine instructions carefully. If you have a lot of yard waste, call your local sanitation department and ask how much they charge for pickups. Waste management will take your plant debris and repurpose it as mulch. Typically, sanitation departments limit what they will and won't pick up, so specify what debris you have on the phone. Keep your debris organized by size and material to make things easier for your local sanitation department. Alternatively, call a yard waste removal crew who can haul the waste away for a fee.

Summary: Conduct a controlled burn if permissible. The time from that it takes raw material to become decomposed compost can be 1 season or more. Visit your local dump. Rent a wood chipper. Contact waste management.

Speeches don't have to be invented from scratch. Telling a personal story is a great way to come up with something quickly: since you already know what happened, you'll know what to say. For example: At a wedding, you could tell a funny story about growing up with the bride or groom. At a funeral, you could tell a story about how kind or generous the deceased was, or about how they influenced you. This is another way to rely on something that's already out there, rather than having to come up with something on the spot. Think of an inspiring quotation, some lyrics to a song, or a famous saying that applies to the situation when you're speaking. Start off with that, and then discuss it a bit. For example, imagine you're giving a toast at Frank's 70th birthday. You could say something like: "They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Frank here's proving them wrong. Who else would have the courage to start running marathons in retirement?" Rambling on too long is the number one thing that can go wrong when giving a personal speech. It's much better to avoid saying too much. Keep your speech brief, focusing on two to five main points or examples. For example, if you're toasting the groom at a wedding, stick to just two good stories about your friendship. If you see people in the audience do things like turn away, talk to each other, check their phones or watches, or fidget in their seats, you might be rambling on and losing their attention. If this happens just quickly cut to your main point and say "thank you" as a way to close. Even practiced speakers can get nervous when asked to give a talk on the spot. Control your nerves by taking a deep breath before you begin, and taking brief pauses every so often while you are talking. Focus on pronouncing your words clearly, and not speaking too quickly. Many people feel nervous about giving a speech, especially with little notice. But if you show the confidence to give one, they'll applaud you. Plus, they'll all be so happy not to be the ones giving the speech that they'll probably be super supportive! Simple ways to find your confidence before giving a speech include taking some deep, slow breaths, or closing your eyes and visualising a happy place before you begin. You can also look out in the audience and find a few friends or people who seem supportive, and focus on them. If you're nervous, you could also try the old standby of imagining everyone in the audience naked! Above all, just remind yourself that most people will naturally admire the courage of someone who shows the confidence to get up and speak in front of a crowd.
Summary: Tell a story you know well. Kick things off with a quote. Keep it short and sweet. Speak clearly and calmly. Shore up your confidence.