A woman I recently made an offer to asked me, “Have you already met a lot of beautiful women through the dating club?” I honestly replied, “You’re the tenth,” and the mood became noticeably awkward. Should I avoid being so brutally honest about things like this?

I’m Saito, the columnist♪ I know, I know. Haha. You seem like someone who’s good at your job. In the workplace, I think giving answers in terms of “numbers” is a basic skill for competent people. “It looks like it might rain this afternoon.” “There’s a 40% chance of rain this afternoon.” However, at a dating club, it’s not that the latter is always the correct answer. The socially correct approach is knowing when to use each one. “I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you.” “Hmm, I haven’t really met many people like you.” If you ask whether the second response was the right one, you might think: “Then maybe I should ask for a higher allowance.” Haha. It really is difficult. In situations like that, I think it’s best to decide, “Maybe we’re not a good match” or “This seems like too much trouble,” and move on to the next person.