What men really want to hear from women

Certain key phrases tell a guy you’re genuinely interested in getting to know him.

In general, men are in awe of women’s date-night conversation skills — which are, hands down, far superior to their own. Even so, though, you ladies do still insert your stiletto’d foot in your mouth every once in awhile — or, conversely, miss prime opportunities to make a remark that would raise your stock in our eyes. Curious about whether you’ve got the right choice phrases in your back pocket and avoiding the bad ones? Check out this list of things guys love (and hate) to hear on a date!

Five things men love to hear on a date:

1. “Then what happened?”

It’s only human for a man to want to think that his life is reasonably interesting. And while interrupting him, changing the subject, or acting bored are well-known nails in the conversational coffin, it’s not enough to just sit there, smile and say “uh-huh” every few seconds. Actively egg him on with comments like, “You’re kidding! What happened next?” or “Go on…” That way, he’ll know you’re genuinely interested versus just being polite.

2. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Maybe he placed in a local triathlon recently or got a promotion at work, or he figured out how to fix his air conditioner by himself. Whatever he’s done, if he’s mentioning it on a date, he’s most likely proud of it — and if you feed his ego by applauding his efforts, you’ll make him feel like a king.

3. “Thank you.”

No doubt about it, manners matter — and are sorely lacking in today’s less formal dating scene. Tap into your inner Emily Post, and it’s sure to make you stand out. So, thank him when he tells you that you look pretty tonight. Thank him for paying for dinner. Thank him for walking you to your car. It’s such a small thing, but it’ll make a huge difference to him.

4. “What do you do when you’re not at work?”

Although a man’s job might be of primary importance, he also has other things in his life that he values. Does he juggle? Work on his car? Play an instrument? With a little probing, a woman can hit upon hidden passions — and convey that she’s interested in getting a complete picture of him as a person and not just what he does to earn his paycheck.

5. “I’d like to get your opinion on something.”

It’s the damsel-in-distress call, and it’s pure catnip for men… and that’s because we love feeling useful, and seeking our advice definitely fits the bill in that regard. So whether you need tips on buying a digital camera or how to handle a tricky situation with your boss, he’ll be glad to help you. (He will be less eager, however, to comment on shopping, knitting or his dating past…but you already knew that.)

Needs of marriage and family living

Needs of marriage and family living have to be considered in relation to the times in which they are observed. They are determined by cultural attitudes as well as by world events. They often reflect the conflict between former established family patterns geared to an earlier economy and the needs of today's rapidly changing social scene. The transition from an established, to a new and as yet untried, value system constitutes one of the most important challenges that marriage faces today.

In this century, revolutionary discoveries and global interaction have had a terrific impact on our lives. The social aspects of the business cycle, which used to concern us so much, seem almost trivial when compared to two world wars, the cold war, the draft, and prodigious advances in science and technology. Modern technology has invaded not only the factory but also the home, and many skills required of husbands and wives are quite different from those learned in their parental homes. Furthermore, the division of labor between men and women is no longer so clearly marked. It is much more blurred, workwise and homewise.

Urbanization in all its forms has been another important factor in changing family life. Tremendous progress in communication and transportation has taken place. This has had its impact not only at the level of world diplomacy but in terms of a teen-ager's "date." We have become an urban-industrial people, the majority living in cities, many of us in small apartshy; ments. We are highly mobile. Our families are smaller -- not only in terms of fewer children but, although there are proportionately more oldsters, there are fewer grandparents living with us.

It would be comforting to think of marriage as a haven to which one could retreat from the strain and conflict of daily living. But contemporary marriage is not a thing apart. It is a way of life within which we must cope with the uncertainties and complexities of the Atomic Age.

Specifically, changes in age of marriage, size of completed family, and length of life have greatly affected patterns of family formation and have introduced complicated problems of personal as well as family development.

There has also been an increase in life expectancy, a remarkable achievement of the medical and related sciences. The marriage of persons who today marry in their twenties is statistically capable of lasting forty-one years. Two generations ago, because of later marriage, more children and earlier death, there was a fifty-fifty chance that one spouse would die at least two years before the last of five children married. Today when one's two or three children leave home for college, career, or marriage, one-third of one's married life (fourteen years on the average) is still ahead.

Sexually, too, women have come into their own. No longer is sex for women a taboo subject, or an experience to be only "dutifully" accepted. Today, women have begun to realize their capacity to enjoy sex and respond to it under circumstances of their own choice. The potential for enrichment of the marital relationship is great; but it is not without its problems in a society where there is still a considerable lag between conventional patterns of conduct and the newer and more flexible attitudes.