Rahul Saggar could never quite get the hang of picking up girls in bars, and he quickly grew tired of the mind-numbingly repetitive online dating scene. So, a few years ago, he turned to something he is really good at: that sexy aphrodisiac known as Power- Point.
Saggar, 42, a civil engineer, realized the program’s effectiveness after ending a work presentation by reading a list of his failures — as a sort of inspiration to others. That part was such a hit with his co-workers for its earnestness and self-deprecating humor that it even led to flirtatious chatter with one of the girls in attendance.
“I figured if there was a venue where I could just present my failures and meet girls, that would be great,” he says.
And thus was born Presentation Dating, Saggar’s now-monthly free series where he uses his friend circles and the offbeat event listserv Nonsense NYC to invite anyone to try to sell themselves as a hot, dateable prospect. The open, casual format — it’s currently held in the spacious basement of his Williamsburg condo — inspires a variety of takes on the concept. The last one, in late November, featured Hakan Gus Kerisli, 28, of Bensonhurst, handing out a printed list of his “do’s” and “dont’s” (Do: cleaning. Don’t: toxic people and drama), followed by a performance poetry piece led by 23-year-old Maja Ho of Bed-Stuy, backed by two dancers in sequined robes. At the first outing in October, someone performed subway poetry and another person made a salad — he was going to a dinner party after the event and hoping to find a date to bring along.
“He didn’t find anyone, but it was a very nice presentation how he mixed everything up,” Saggar says. Presentation Dating returns for a third time on Thursday at 7 p.m. (RSVP at presentationdating@ gmail.com).
The 25 or so people in the November crowd were reserved at first — but the vibe loosened up after a few minutes of guzzling cheap Trader Joe’s wine. The crowd responded to one girl — whose presentation was dissecting her OkCupid profile on the screen — as a group therapy session, coaching her on ways to improve her picture options and encouraging her to come out of her shell a bit more.
“I put up this wall,” she shyly admitted.
The evening drew a mix of ages and people ranging from arty types to buttoned-up office workers. Most were singles who were tired of the same old dating routine and were looking to shake things up.
Jake, a 30-year-old from Greenpoint who works for a major online retailer (and asked that we not use his last name), used the event to present his job, which involved reading angry complaints customers emailed him about rollover ads.
“You have the nerve to cover up my search results? F – – k you!” he read, concluding with: “I’m single, thanks.” It seemed to work: He struck up a conversation with a girl in the audience during intermission. (It isn’t known if they ended up going out, though Jake was spotted chatting up another girl — in Russian — later in the night).
It’s tempting to label this group as kind of geeky for turning what should be casual flirtations into something resembling a boardroom pitch meeting — but, really, is it any weirder than meticulously crafting an online profile like a used-car ad?
“If a guy does fall in love with me, it’s going to be someone pretty weird,” says Sadie Kleinman, 36, an editor from Washington Heights who presented a list of strange things in her apartment, including a set of books about lobotomy.
“If you can’t deal with someone who knows a lot about lobotomy, I’m not the girl for you. I’m looking for my weirdo.”