speeddating......any tips?

I signed up for a speed dating event;

The age bracket is end 20’ers beginning 40’ers (I’m 38)

ever been on one? was it fun? effective?
What are effective tactics?
Speed dating Do and Don’ts?
Good oneliners?

My stated goal is to have a nice night, no expectations further than that………but I would really like to meet someone for further romantic adventures.

The last 4 years I did the Internet dating thing, I wrote a lot of e-mails, got a lot less back and even smaller amount led to actual dates,I did meet a nice girl who I had something of a relationship with, but didn’t work out, been single for more then a year now and don’t think I want to jump back into the Internet dating thing, not yet anyway…

I tried once so here’s what I can tell you about it.

They say don’t talk about what you do for work, I tried that with a few people and it just didn’t work, everyone wanted to know what I did for work.

It’s quite loud, especially when the dude next to you seems like he yells. That makes it a lot harder to really hear what anyone’s saying so you can’t have a good conversation anyway.

Just go and have fun and mark down a couple of people you think are interesting. I got one date out of the time I went so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

State it then move on. Avoid boring topics. You’re there to flirt.

And absolutely go to have a good time, and have zero expectations. I’ve been literally hundreds of times and never made more than a good friend. I’ve had better luck with online dating. But it’s still fun.

Don’t wait for the event to start to start talking to people. Make it your goal to introduce yourself to everyone ASAP. If there’s a break, use that time to keep talking to people. And hang out afterwards.

Get something to drink, but don’t get drunk. You’re going to be talking a lot and loudly – keep your throat wet.

Show up a little late rather than a little early. It sucks to be stuck in a corner alone. It’s better to walk in when the place is already full.

When a woman is looking at your name tag, say “Hello?!? My eyes are up here!” Most won’t get it. But the few who do will laugh their asses off. And won’t ask what you do for a living.