How to Impress your Girlfriend's Brother

While family approval is no longer as important as it used to be earlier in the choice of a partner, it still retains a measure of influence in the success of a relationship. So even after you have impressed your girlfriend’s pals and co-workers, you are not yet in the clear. You still need to make a good impression on her family and here your best bet may lie with her brother.

The bro is important

While impressing a girlfriend’s brother may not rank as high as impressing her parents in dating guides, keep in mind that a sibling will be closer in age to your girlfriend and thus less easier to fool. In all probability your girlfriend may be more comfortable introducing you to her brother before taking you to meet the whole family. As far as she is concerned, it could be a warm-up for the bigger meeting with the parents. Also being a guy himself, your girlfriend’s brother will be able to pick up cues with greater ease which may indicate your insincerity or disinterest. Then again being the son of the family, the brother may hold considerable influence over his parents, in which case he may be able to swing their judgment of you. So if you are planning on making a good impression on your girlfriend’s family, make sure you start with the brother.

Do a bit of homework

If your girlfriend has planned a meeting with you and her brother, it will not hurt to ask her a bit about the sibling. This could range from his hobbies and what games he plays, to where he works or if he is still in college, what are the subjects he has taken. Then read up a bit on the answers particularly if the brother’s interests are as eclectic as Renaissance art, deep sea diving and molecular biology. While you are not required to put on a false act and show yourself as someone you are not, at the same time brushing up your general knowledge will definitely stand you in good stead. Apart from impressing your girlfriend with the fact that you are genuinely interested in her family members, doing a bit of research will actually help the conversation to flow smoothly between you and her brother. You will not be at a loss of things to say nor look confounded when he launches into his thesis on marine ecology.

Get a lowdown on family dynamics

Apart from being informed about the hobbies and interests of your girlfriend’s brother, it will also help if you are aware of the larger family dynamics – which parent he is close to, the family’s views on politics and religion in general and the brother’s in particular. All this will help you to avoid controversial topics or indulge in a sense of humor that does not exactly match theirs’. Also ask your girlfriend if there is something about your brother and family that you should know about – there are lots of families where step-children or adopted children have been taken to the bosom and are really indistinguishable from blood relatives. While these factors may have no bearing on the affection that your girlfriend and her brother feel for each other, knowing about them may well save you from a painful faux pas or verbal gaffe.

Be sincere

Since your girlfriend has already appraised you on the hobbies and interests of her brother, try to find common ground while initiating a conversation. This will not only help to break the ice but ensure that he has something to contribute to the conversation as well. Among guys the ice-breakers usually revolve around topics like sports, work and cars. However no matter how keen to impress the guy, it is never wise to feign interest in something which bores you to death or you have absolutely no clue about. In fact if you find that you have nothing whatsoever in common with the guy, admit that while you know little about Christopher Marlowe’s dramas, could he tell you a little more about the dramatist and the times he wrote in. This way you won’t have to pretend being someone you are not, but still impress another person with your genuine interest.

Keep it clean

When guys get together, talk often boils downs to women and sex. However remember that this person before you is your partner’s brother and you would do well to keep miles off any risqué jokes, innuendos, accounts of strip clubs, sleepovers and other tid-bits of your past sex life . Don’t be under the false impression that the guy code transcends the fact that the person you are dating is his sister. Also avoid sharing the intimate details about your girlfriend with her brother – no matter how true it is; indulging in such disclosures will not only make you come off as lewd and coarse to the brother but also untrustworthy and a plain jerk to your girlfriend when she comes to know of it – as she surely will.

Understand his protective attitude

It is natural for your girlfriend’s brother to feel protective about his sister, no matter whether he is younger or older to her. A brother is usually only a step below the father and thus he will want to take his sister’s safety seriously. Thus among the things he will be sizing up is whether you are trustworthy, loyal, protective and sane, in other words, worthy of taking care of his sister, especially when he is not around. So take care that he does not get to hear unflattering accounts of your past behavior, even if then you were involved with someone else. However when you go about proving these qualities, make sure you do it in a subtle manner. The best way is to let your actions speak for themselves instead of bragging about muscular prowess and lakeview penthouse. Also while you may be uncomfortable letting your personality come under his scrutiny, try to understand his protective instincts and make allowances for some detailed questioning. All these measures will help you to build up a rapport with your girlfriend’s brother without becoming over familiar. And the good vibes that you two may end up sharing will in turn go a long way in strengthening your relationship with your girlfriend.