By Rachel MacLynn
It’s always exciting to visit New York, but all the more so when you are invited to speak at an industry event. I was welcomed at an intimate pre-conference dinner by the warm and wonderful Rachel Greenwald, best-selling author of “Find a Husband After 35 – Using What I Learned at Harvard Business School”. The line-up of dinner guests could not have been more interesting and humbling, it was an honour to be included amongst them. There was Richard Wolman a Professor of Psychology from Harvard University, he is an experienced clinician, mediator, teacher and researcher with extensive experience in personality testing in relation to the dating and matchmaking process. I was delighted to meet the very engaging Paul Brunson, also known as ‘The Modern Day Hitch’ and it was an honour to be introduced to Dr Helen Fisher a leading expert in the science of human attraction, who has conducted extensive research and written five books on the evolution and future of human sexuality, the chemistry of romantic love, and most recently, human personality types and why we fall in love with one person rather than another. Lisa Clampitt, founder of The Matchmaking Institute, and Jason Silver are the driving force in raising the professional standards of matchmaking on a global scale. Their dedication and passion is quite inspiring!
My presentation at the conference the following day focussed on the psychology of matchmaking. Little did I know when I was completing my Master’s Degree in business psychology, that one day I would be applying this to scaling a matchmaking service. Psychology in matchmaking is not just about how we communicate with our clients. Its main role is based around identifying the sort of person we should be searching for on behalf of our clients on a values level. Knowledge is shared by the client and this is interpreted by our matchmakers so we can search for partners who have the values, attitudes, beliefs, aspirations and energy to match our client. These are the vital ingredients that cannot be delivered via internet dating or meeting someone at a party. The Maclynn team are focused on delivering what I see as the vital ingredients for success in finding a life partner:
- 1. Asking our client the right questions about his/her life.
- 2. Expert interpretation of the information we are given.
- 3. Defining the ideal partner AND the boundaries with emphasis on values and aspirations.
- 4. Having the scope to deliver which means: an incredible team of matchmakers and a global membership base so we can search in almost any cosmopolitan city for a client’s future partner.
- 5. We specialise in finding life partners for exceptional people. Our members form a very discreet community of beautiful, intelligent and kind-hearted women, and established, ambitious, confident men. They are such amazing people that it makes our job so much easier.
- 6. Hand-selecting the best matches for our client in consultation with him/her.
Check out this excellent video showing some highlights from the 2014 International Matchmakers and Date Coaches conference.
Our clients are self-aware and intelligent people so choosing matches is a joint effort! This brings the perfect combination of knowledge (client) and expertise (matchmaker), which is fundamental to success. Calling us is the first step towards your goal.
