DR. WALLACE: I love going to music shows, and one of my best girlfriends also enjoys live music as much as I do. I'm usually on a tight budget, so we girls always look out for good tickets right when the show is announced so that we can afford to get in at a reasonable price and still get a decent seat.

But as much as I enjoy going to these shows with my friend, at the end of each show, it's always difficult for me because she wants to stand in a line to buy a concert T-shirt. She literally collects them from every show she attends. She encourages me to get a shirt too, but I tell her that I enjoy those shows in the moment, and I always take a few pictures on my phone at each show so that I can remember them that way.

What's crazy is, sometimes there are huge lines for these shows to get the T-shirts. They can sometimes take up to a half an hour, and it's so boring after the show is over for me to stand in the line with her when I'm not buying anything. I don't want to be rude and go home early on my own, but I don't like standing in these lines hearing her debate which type of shirt she's going to buy on each particular occasion. Any ideas on how I can avoid this? — Concerts Are Great, but T-Shirt Lines Aren't, via email

CONCERTS ARE GREAT, BUT T-SHIRT LINES AREN'T: Perhaps the most diplomatic thing to do would be to tell her that you're going to head out to the ladies room and then you're going to go through your pictures on your phone while you're waiting for her.

You could indeed go through the photos you've taken at the show, crop them and polish them up to your liking, as the show will be fresh in your mind and you'll enjoy looking through your pictures with this free time. Once you have a few of them perfected, text them to her along with a message asking if she's getting close to the front of the line yet and so forth.

Some people who attend music concerts — myself included — enjoy talking to other random concertgoers about how they enjoyed the show, what they liked the best, and if they had ever seen that band or act before. There are some really interesting conversations to be had if you're bold enough to say hello to a few people and ask them an open-ended question about the show you've just enjoyed.

If you can find a variety of good uses for those 20 to 30 minutes rather than standing in the boring line with your friend, you can reunite with her once she has her prized T-shirt, and you may have very well enjoyed yourself during that time before the two of you head home to discuss how much fun the show was.

I NEED TO IMPROVE MY SKILLS IN THIS AREA

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who just finished my sophomore year in high school. Finally, I'll become an "upperclassman" by becoming a junior in high school this fall. I'm a decent student, I enjoy sports, and I have some good friends.

The only thing I seem to be missing is a steady girlfriend, although I do go out on a few dates here and there. My problem always seems to be that I'm pretty nervous on the first or second date, and I'm not very good at making conversation. You might say that I come off as somewhat awkward, and this sometimes doesn't lead to a third date.

I've studied and read a lot of things about dating conversations and so forth, but I'm sure everyone else is reading all the modern suggestions that are out there these days in the world of social media. I was thinking instead that perhaps I could try another route, so do you have any "old-school" suggestions on what may be good to talk about during a first or second date when you're a nervous guy going into these dates? — Seeking to Improve as a Conversationalist, via email

SEEKING TO IMPROVE AS A CONVERSATIONALIST: One of the best bits of advice I ever received, and one that I always like to give out, is to start by being yourself, and do your best to be comfortable with who you are and what your past experiences have been.

Along these lines, think of three or four subjects or topics that you feel you actually have something to say or that may be interesting for another person to hear. This could involve hobbies, prior travel, funny stories, music shows, volunteer work or anything that you know well or enjoy.

Once you have these mentally in your "back pocket" while you're out on a date, ask your date open-ended questions that brush up against these topics, and see if you can initiate a discussion about something specific. You can practice being a good listener, ask a few questions along the way and allow your date to go first and talk about the subject matter you brought up. Then when the time is right, you'll be fully prepared to talk about your own experiences. You can mention that you similarly enjoyed traveling and went to such-and-such specific location, and describe what happened there and why you enjoyed it.

Having several of these topics ready to go and knowing what you're roughly going to say in advance provides confidence and a sense of calm. Don't rush into things, be yourself at all times, and allow your date to go first regarding these topics. Hopefully, before too long, you'll be having a good in-depth conversation about something the two of you enjoyed doing in the past and may enjoy doing together in the future.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Nainoa Shizuru at Unsplash