Why the stall happens
Matchmakers report that the largest drop-off in dating isn't after bad first dates — it's after fine ones. 'That was nice' with no follow-through. The usual cause isn't lack of interest but lack of specificity: both people wait for the other to convert vague warmth into an actual plan.
The fix is unglamorous: whoever felt the interest proposes something concrete. Not 'we should do this again' — a thing, a day, a time.
Propose like you mean it
A good second-date proposal references the first: 'You said you'd never had proper Georgian food — there's a place I like, are you free Thursday?' It shows you listened, it's easy to answer, and it converts sentiment into a calendar entry.
Send it within a day or two. Waiting a week to seem unbothered mostly signals that you're either not interested or playing a game — and both readings cost you.
Design it differently
A second date shouldn't be a rerun of the first with higher stakes. If the first was coffee and talk, make the second an activity: a market, an exhibition, a walk somewhere with things to react to. Shared experiences generate the material that pure conversation eventually exhausts.
And read the reply honestly. An enthusiastic yes or a counter-offer ('Thursday's bad — Saturday?') is interest. A vague 'sounds fun, I'll let you know' that never lands is an answer too. One follow-up is reasonable; a campaign is not.