Here's a little tip:
Don't flatter too much or too imaginitively.....unless you're William Shakespeare you won't sound anything other than cheesy and insincere. One year, my date told me that I had eyes like pools of amber and I laughed for like half an hour.
Just talk about something normal, something you have in common. I've always found music and movies to be pretty safe topics. So is school, but that's kind of boring. For homecoming dances "so what did you do over the summer?" works pretty well. If the music is loud, though, don't talk. Also don't talk if you ate something garlic-y for dinner.
