There's hardly anything more nerve-wracking than a first date with someone you don't know very well. It's hard to say whether awkward silence or saying the wrong thing is more embarrassing. Good conversation is the ideal during a first date, but there are a few topics that could send a perfectly good date south. The obvious conversations to avoid are those involving politics or religion, as the old adage goes. Keeping things light and fun is the way to go on the first date. Save whatever strong feelings you have on either end of the political spectrum for a time when you know each other a little better and are more attuned to the other person's thoughts, feelings and ways of expressing himself or herself. A knock-down, drag-out argument about highly charged subjects like these is not the way to ensure a second date. Preferably you'll leave your exes out of the conversation as well - the manner in which you speak of someone you previously dated is a good indicator of how you might behave in a relationship.