Dr. Nerdlove gives a step-by-step breakdown of how to successfully approach women in public.
Originally appeared at Doctor NerdLove
Over the last year plus, I’ve given you a lot of tips on where to meet new and interesting singles, how to make the approach, how to banter and flirt, how to get their number and what to do when you’ve got it. Today, I want to talk to you about how to put it all together. And one of the best ways of doing this is to break down a successful approach… one from my dating past, in fact.
Much like with the tale of the Lonely Soldier Girl, the Doc is taking his turn on the examining table and putting one of his own experiences in making a completely cold approach – that is, going up and meeting a stranger I have no social connection with – under the microscope. But instead of the traditional Post-Mortem, we’re going to be looking at what went right and why… and what you could take away from this.
Now to be sure: this isn’t one the most dramatic or complicated cold approach I’ve had; in fact, it’s fairly low-key and uneventful. This is why I chose it: because nine times out of ten, meeting someone new isn’t a matter of high drama; it’s just knowing how to be as charming and interesting a person as you can be. Almost every time I’ve met someone, got their number and eventually went on a date with her, the process followed a pattern similar to this one.
Some obligatory ass-covering: this is being posted with the approval of all involved parties. Certain details have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.
So with that in mind, I give you the tale of the Reverse Cowgirl.
♦◊♦
THE SETUP
Back in my wilder days – before I burned out on the bar scene – I spent a lot of time hitting the bars downtown. I used to go out two, three, sometimes four nights a week with a group of friends to hit a couple of our favorite bars for some good times and bad decisions. We were a crew of guys mostly out to have fun and meet women; if we got laid, great, otherwise as long as we were enjoying ourselves, it was all good. Usually Friday nights meant that we would meet up at this one particular bar for a drink and some general bonhomie – what we’d been up to that week, talking food, TV, women… your basic male-bonding stuff – before heading off to see what the night would bring.
This particular night – a Friday – I was feeling especially good. I’d just finished a major project and was looking to celebrate. I ended up downtown early with an hour to kill, so I decided to hang loose at a coffeehouse in the area and chat with anyone who seemed like they might be interesting to talk to until my buddies made it down.
Analysis:
This may seem somewhat inconsequential, but it’s actually surprisingly important when it comes to meeting people. Your attitude has a lot to do with success; if you’re in a good mood and with an attitude of “I’m out to enjoy myself”, you’re going to find that more people are interested in talking to you than if you come across as someone on a mission to get laid – or worse, someone who’s pissy, sullen or otherwise in a shitty mood.
In addition, chatting with random friendly strangers can be a good way to get into social mode – think of it as the social equivalent of stretching and doing warm-up exercises before a run – and get into a more outgoing headspace.
THE GIRL
I noticed April within seconds of the barrista handing me my latte. It was the cowboy hat that caught my attention; Austin isn’t known for a preponderance of urban cowboys or western attire, so anyone wearing a cowboy hat is going to stand out by default. More interestingly, it looked as though it had been screen-printed; it had a design reminiscent of an Old School Americana tattoo on the crown. The hat alone was enough to make me want to say “hello” – it was legitimately the coolest hat I’d seen in quite some time. The fact that the woman wearing it was cute – wavy shoulder length sandy-blonde hair, a black tanktop, jeans – certainly helped.
She didn’t seem to be my usual type to be sure, but she was definitely someone I’d be interested in at least talking to for a little before I left to meet my friends. As I made a quick assessment – she was sitting by herself at a two-top table in a fairly well-trafficked part of the coffeehouse, a single large coffee, looking up occasionally at the crowd, but not apparently looking for anyone – I noticed that she was doing quick pencil studies in a spiral-bound sketchbook.
That cinched it; I’d always had success with arty types. I was an artist myself, and I was always interested in seeing other people’s work, especially sketches.
Analysis
When you’re approaching someone – assuming you’re following the 3 second rule – a quick look around is worth it to determine several things. In my case, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t about to intrude where I wasn’t wanted. First: was she there by herself or with friends? Approaching one person by herself is slightly different from a group, especially when they’re seated; you need to be careful not to be creepy by accident. Since she was at a small table, I didn’t want to steal somebody’s seat if they were at the bar or in the bathroom… and I also didn’t want to be interrupted by an annoyed friend (or date) if it came to that. I also wanted to gauge whether or not she was in “don’t bother me mode” – seated in a corner or away from the main traffic area, eyes locked on her sketchbook, headphones on or otherwise giving off “not interested” vibes. I’d done my share of sketching-in-a-public-place-to-meet-people and I recognized the signs.
As an aside: I don’t recommend this as a way of trying to meet people.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeIf all of this sounds a little like I’m trying to say I have super-Terminator Vision or some Sherlock-esque ability to notice insane little details and deduce facts from them… well, I don’t. Most of what I was doing was looking for really obvious things; by this point I had made (and fucked up) enough approaches to have learned what to look for via a long process of trial and error. I’ve lost track of how many times I ended up getting shot down because I didn’t notice an engagement ring or wedding band. This is one more reason why I advocate keeping detailed journals and documenting your progress; it helps you learn to recognize patterns.
The fact that she was sketching gave me an instant point of commonality: we were both artists. Even if it turned out that she (or I, for that matter) wasn’t interested, I was willing to bet that I’d enjoy talking to her; I legitimately like meeting artistic people, even if I’m not hoping to get their phone number.
Ironically, I would later find out that she was actually trying to catch the eye of a guy in the corner who was also drawing. Go figure.
THE APPROACH
I walked up to the far corner of her table. “Hey, can I see what you’re drawing?” I asked. She looked up – she didn’t notice me as I’d walked over – and I smiled. I nodded at her sketchbook. “Is it ok if I look at your sketch? I know some people don’t like it when somebody stares over their shoulder when they’re in the zone…”
“Sure,” she said and leaned away from the sketchbook.
“Mind if I…?”
I pulled an empty chair from an adjacent table and sat perpendicular to her. “I’ve only got a couple minutes before I have to meet up with some folks,” I said as I put my latte down. The figurework was loose and sketchy, but the clothing was surprisingly detailed. “Wow,” I said, “I really like the way you do cloth. Drapery drives me fucking nuts.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said. ” Makes me wish I was only doing underwear. Are you an artist?”
God I loved questions like that. They might as well be asking “Hey, would you like this opportunity to show off and humblebrag a little?” I wasn’t the world’s greatest painter by any stretch of the imagination – in fact, I eventually quit painting and took up writing instead – but I was pretty good and I’d been in a few local gallery shows. I definitely had enough skill to come up with some visually striking pictures – especially since I was working digitally at that point. Photoshop lets you correct for many, many sins. This was shortly after the iPhone had been released, so I made a point of having copies of my latest paintings stored in the photo app for just such occasions.
“Hey, first things first. You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” She laughed. “I’m Harris,” I said. “April,” she said, shaking my hand before flipping her sketchbook back to the first page. April was studying fashion design with an eye towards interesting prints and unusual dress designs and accessories. “That explains the hat,” I said.
“Hey, don’t knock the hat!” she said in mock outrage. “It’s my one concession to being a Texan,”
“Does it get you a lot of guys asking if you could hog-tie ‘em?”
“Wow, that’s the best innuendo you could some up with?” she asked with a grin. I rolled my eyes at her.
“Heard it before, huh?” She nodded. “That’s what I get for going for the low-hanging fruit.”
“So now I’m low-hanging fruit?”
“I notice you didn’t answer my question,” I replied.
“No, but you’d be amazed how many guys choke when I tell them I prefer to ride bareback.”
Oh yeah. I liked this one.
“You mind?” She handed me the hat. It was a gift from her roommate, who worked in a hat store out by UT campus. I was surprised to see that it’d been hand-painted. I was impressed; I was never as good with physical media as I was with Photoshop, and I would’ve loved to be able to paint something like that.
I flipped the hat around and put it back on her, backwards.
“Here you go. Now you can tell them you’re into reverse cowgirl.” She broke into peals of surprised laughter as I pulled out my phone to show her some of my paintings. She scooted closer to me and leaned in and I put my hand on her back. “You realize I’m going to have to call you ‘Cowgirl’ from now on. That’s totally your name to me now,” I said.
“Jerk,” she snorted and smacked me on the shoulder.
Analysis
April was fairly intent on her sketch by this point, which meant that she wouldn’t necessarily see me when I walked up. I made a point of approaching from the front at a slight angle rather than from the side or behind her for just that reason – it meant that she was much more likely to see me coming over through peripheral vision – and keeping the table between us. This way I was less likely to startle her or provoke an immediate sense of threat when I would say “Hey”.
Similarly, when coming up to someone who’s seated, it’s important to sit down as soon as possible – otherwise you end up coming across as looming over them, which can creep them out. It also carries the context that you’re seeking their approval and attention. Think of it in the context of a boss and employee – the boss is seated at his desk while the employee is standing nervously in front of him. The seated person is in the comfortable position while you’re standing; the body language and position sets you up as being the one seeking the other’s approval. Sitting down puts you at an equal level.
Mentioning that I only had a few minutes also helped put her at her ease; it meant that if I was a creep or a jackass, she was only going to have to put up with me for a short amount of time before I had to get up and leave… and if I didn’t, she had a built in escape clause; an icy “Didn’t you say you had somewhere to be?” is a good way of telling people to fuck off when they’ve worn out their welcome. If we were having a good time, I could either elect to stay and keep the emotional momentum going, or leave on an emotional high-note and call later… assuming I got her number.
I was genuinely interested in looking at her sketches, which made talking to her easier; I wasn’t giving the “I’m here to pick you up” vibe, I was just a guy who was interested in talking about something we clearly had in common. Having my own work readily at hand via the iPhone meant that we could compare notes and I could brag a little as well as back up my claims – I’ve known lots of guys who claim to be photographers or DJs but have never touched a camera or a turntable in their lives. Lots of folks will claim to have a cooler job than they really do in order to borrow some of that coolness for themselves.
Her response to my (admittedly lame) joke about the hat gave me a good indication that she was interested in flirting; she called attention to it without shutting me down or telling me that it was inappropriate. Coming back with a more overtly sexual reference also gave me a good indication of her sense of humor and what level of edginess I could get away with, as seen in her response to the “reverse cowgirl” joke. If she hadn’t made a similar joke back to me, I probably would have kept things dialed back a little until I had a better sense of how interested she was. As it was, when she leaned in to look at my phone – as opposed to taking it from me and flipping through it on her own – I knew she was getting into me; I had good reason to assume that she would be cool with my touching her.
Giving her a cute nickname is a good way of not only keeping a shorthand of who she was if I got her number – you’d be surprised at how quickly names can blur – but also of cementing me in her mind. If I called her up and said “Hey Cowgirl this is Harry…” she is much more likely to remember me – and the fun she had with me – than if I said “hey, this is Harry, I don’t know if you remember me but I talked to you about your sketches…”
THE CLOSE6
As much fun as I was having talking to April, I really wasn’t kidding when I said that I only had a few minutes before I had to meet my friends. We were vibing and I was definitely interested in her, but I already had plans and I didn’t feel right just blowing them off; I also didn’t know April well enough to invite her to come with me on what was ostensibly a guy’s night. Plus, with her sketchbooks and coffee, she seemed fairly well settled in for the immediate future. I pulled one of my business cards out of my wallet – I was proud of these; they were heavy, glossy stock with one of my paintings on one side and my contact information on the other – and handed it to her.
“Hey, I have to go,” I said, “but my website with all my art’s on here. Let me know what you think!”
I left the coffeehouse and headed to the bar. I was still in a good mood – I’d met a cute girl, I was warmed up and ready to party like a rockstar with my buds – all in all a net positive from my perspective. I assumed that this was going to be the last I’d hear from her.
Analysis
At the time, I could have stuck around; there was definite attraction there, and we were having a fun time. The logistics of the situation – being in a coffeeshop with a big bag of art supplies – meant that I probably wouldn’t have been able to turn this into an instant date by hopping to one of the bars near by, but we could have spent more time hanging out at the coffeehouse.
As it was, leaving her with my card was a mistake; it often comes off as a passive-aggressive move and puts all of the pressure of making contact on her. I would’ve done better to say “Hey, I’m having a great time talking to you and I’d really like to see you again. Let me get your number and I’ll call you tomorrow,” and handed her my phone to have her punch her number in. That way, depending on how the night went, I would be able to send a ping text – “Hey, do you speak text?” or “This bar is lame, what are you up to?” – and keep the emotional momentum going. I’m a big believer in texting the same night I meet the person rather than waiting some arbitrary amount of time for fear of showing too much interest. Texting is a great way to keep flirting with someone, even bringing some sexual tension to the conversation; played right, it’s possible to turn getting a number into a make-out session that same night.
Still, I needn’t have worried…
EPILOGUE
A week later, as I was coming out of a movie, I had a voicemail waiting for me on my phone.
“Hey, this is April… you know, Reverse Cowgirl? I was wondering if you were doing anything this weekend…”
We ended up dating for four months.
Read more from Doctor NerdLove
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Image of blonde cowgirl from Shutterstock.com
First and foremost, stop trying to pick up strange women.The very act dis empowers you( even if you do get laid) on some level. Secondly,get in the gym, women like good looking men,especially women in bars looking for men to talk to. Thirdly,put yourself in circumstances where you are with women, at the laundry mat, at the coffee house etc.If she is interested, she will make it known.I have been in circles of friends and overtime manged to have interesting interactions with more than one woman in the group and yes they knew about it.They didn’t care. Women are engaged… Read more »
My current boyfriend’s first line was a response to a Dungeons and Dragons question I was asking my (then boyfriend). He said ‘Green dragon’s breathed chlorine in 2nd ed’, which instantly piqued my interest even though I hadn’t noticed him before. After about half an hour of DnD related dialogue and introducing me to other tabletop stores, he *asked* me if we could exchange numbers , which I happily agreed to. We kept in touch, and two years of being platonic friends, we finally got together, and I have rarely been happier. If he had practiced the advise here, the… Read more »
Bottom line: She found him attractive. Otherwise, she would not have called him.
This will work only in limited situations, unless the woman is lonely and desperate.
Just saying.
I don’t like this advice at all, everything goes smooth because the girl is attracted to Harris, as people above have pointed out that is the sole reason, why the story might look good. The problem I see, is that Harris tries to be not creepy, but doesn’t try to be not rude. Now while being creepy is not a real thing, being rude is real and Harris advises to show rude behaviour here. Examples of rude behaviour in the text are: 1.““Mind if I…?” I pulled an empty chair from an adjacent table and sat perpendicular to her.” It… Read more »
and comments like these are why I refuse to approach women. Because no matter how polite you think you are being, some people will just think your an inconsiderate jerk anyway and call you a bad person for it.
the only winning move is not to play
I am confused by your response. In any interaction with a stranger you should be polite (not thinking you are polite) and treat them with basic respect, that is what they can expoect of you, not more and not less. Unlike “creepy”, which is a subjective judgement, “rude” is established in a culture and most people know what “being rude” means. You seem to disagree with some of my examples of rudeness in Harris advice, feel free to explain where exactly you disagree. Now it is perfectly possible to approach an unknown woman (or anybody) politely. You can introduce yourself,… Read more »
None of this is being rude. He wasn’t meeting a person in the hopes of starting a platonic relationship. The ONLY reason he spoke to her was because he found her attractive. The entire meeting is already steeped in sexuality. Unfortunately when trying to “pick up” (and I use that term to mean meeting a woman with the intent of asking her out) the man HAS to take charge. You can’t wait for the woman to give you permission to pull up the chair, initiate “low-level intimacy”, or give you a yes/no answer to taking your phone number. You just… Read more »
You must be dealing with a certain kind of woman, or interested in that type. When guys say things like that to me, it gets my back up and I don’t give it to them.
I wouldn’t say that’s all there is… I see a definite mix of some of the stuff used in PUA communities (nicknames, assertion of control, opening with “I gotta go soon”). Of course, I doubt those would receive attribution to the ‘horrible woman-hating PUA community.’
Here’s the thing about PUA advice. Any GOOD dating/meeting women advice is going to sound like PUA because their principles are built upon stuff that really works. The basic principles of PUA were being used by guys when I was 15 years old, and when my mom was 15 years old. I always tell the story of how I met one of my exes and the first thing I said to him was, “Did you get dressed in the dark?” (he had a tie on over a tee shirt, so dumb) and smiled coyly. When we met for our first… Read more »
Teasing has always been a big part of flirting. I fell for a guy 20 years ago because he was a big teasy flirt and was always insulting me in a funny way. He’d call me a dork and ask me if I slept in my clothes. I would dish it right back at him. He always made me laugh. PUA hadn’t been invented yet back then and it wasn’t “negging” it was just being funny.
The thing is that it doesn’t work (even close to equally) for everybody. There has to be some spark of attraction or at least interest to begin with. Oherwise you are just some dork or idiot, and you will be stared down just as such. Which is also why I think this approach favours girls over guys. Because many girls might be wary to pick up on an approach from just about any guy if she doesn’t know anything about him, as we have seen in a lot of comments around here. While a guy probably is more likely to… Read more »
Yeah, it definitely only works for a certain group of people… And even then I worry that it’s not that healthy. When I look back at the relationships I started where a guy used what are now known as “Negs”, they weren’t the healthiest in my life. It certainly takes a certain person, connecting with a certain person, and a very good nature to make it work. Many times the guy or girl just comes off as an asshole. That’s why I like what Harris is doing in this article. They tease, but he’s not mean to her. He’s feeling… Read more »
“That’s why I like what Harris is doing in this article. They tease, but he’s not mean to her. He’s feeling it out, assessing and reassessing with every signal she sends him. That’s so crucial in meeting new people.” It still only works for a certain group of people. Note how part of his slick approach included giving her his business card while “closing” her. Do you remember how kindly the give-her-your-card technique was treated in the “Dating Power” comment thread? It was ripped up down and sideways because in that context, the anecdotes were coming from women who’d been… Read more »
yeah personally the secusl innuendo would have been a turn off to me and possibly offensive. It apparently worked in this instance so I don’t know, appears he knew what he was doing. But a lot of guys would not be able to pull it off.
*sexual innuendo
I can type. Really.
sure you can type.
don’t forget, while he might have started the secusl innuendo, he also had plausible deniability – she’s the one who really ramped it up with that bareback comment.
Well, it’s a numbers game. Nine out of ten women (or whatever ratio) might be annoyed by the sexual innuendo. The Reverse Cowgirl in this case liked it. Nothing succeeds like success. If you don’t succeed you are a creep.
He was able to pull it off, not because he knew what he was doing, but because the girl in this instance happened to like him.
Exactly why advice like this is worthless. A more honest advice article would say “Figure out some way to be instantly attractive, or just give it up. Without her intiial interest, you’re doomed…. even if she eventually gets to know you and winds up liking you as a person, that’s a one-way ticket to Friendzone. Without initial attraction, there is zero–repeat, ZERO–chance of a romantic relationship.”
There are plenty of men — I’d say, the majority — who fall somewhere between Quasimodo and Tom Brady on the attractiveness scale. For the average-looking guy, starting the conversation off right goes a long way towards making yourself attractive to her. In other words, Copyleft, it’s entirely possible to influence her initial attraction with something other than physical appearance.
How much of that range between Quasimodo and Tom Brady do you suppose can get away with sitting down uninvited, escalating to sexual innuendo within a few sentences, and putting a hand an unknown woman’s back? Does this sound like the kind of advice *any* woman would give to men in general about how to approach and impress strange women, even if you’re more toward the Quasimodo end of the spectrum? If the sketching woman at the table had been Amanda Marcotte instead of Reverse Cowgirl, would it still stand as a helpful anecdote as long as he used all… Read more »
Actually, Marcotte is a fan of Nerdlove. She just interviewed him for her podcast.
I was not aware, but seriously, do you think Marcotte – or any woman who felt no initial attraction to an approaching man – would welcome and respond favorably to the approach outlined by Nerdlove in this article? I dare you to try it. Find some place where Marcotte is reading/working at a table by herself, and then go sit down with her (after asking rhetorically if she minds and not waiting for an answer), and after a quick escalation in flirtation, put your hand on her back as you hand her your card. If Marcotte isn’t handy, just pick… Read more »
@Marcus I completely agree. Without initial attraction you come off as annoying at best and creepy at worst. Men who approach without some sign that their approach is welcome, for example a smile, take the risk to leave a bad impression. On the other hand, taking this risk shows boldness and confidence. Traits women prefer in men. This catch 22 is hardly ever acknowledged from feminists who talk about unwanted sexual attention. There is a widely popular blog post called Schrödinger’s Rapist. It explains to men that they are perceived as potential harassers by the strange women they approach. Therefore… Read more »
NL had a good sketch based on this point that I’m too lazy to look up right now that I think was a “sexual harassment” training video or something. Nerdy guy (regular cast member) would do or say something innocuous and it was sexual harrassment. Tom Brady (quarterback host) would do or say the same thing and every woman would swoon. You’re thinking of this: Sexual Harassment and You Funny, at the time I didn’t really think about the gender dynamics of it (even though they were bludgeoning you over the head with it), I was mostly thinking about it… Read more »
Again, Marcus raises an excellent point. Look over these ‘tactics’–every one of them that’s counted as charming and flirtatious when the guy is attractive will also be listed as creepy and obnoxious when the guy ISN’T attractive. Picture a fat or ugly guy doing these things, and you know full well that the woman will complain afterwards about being pestered by an annoying creep…. for doing the exact same things.
So do the techniques themselves matter? No. If they only work if she’s already attracted to you, then they don’t actually ‘work’ at all.
Do you ever think even for a moment that there are some people in the world who pick up on cues that aren’t about looks? Like that when approached by someone who is trying to “sell, pull, and close” a girl she might actually sense that (not unlike how one is treated by car salesman) and dislike it? and that when approached by someone who is actually just open to the possibility of whatever, authentically enjoying not only her but themselves….she might respond better to that? Cause I think a lot of people in the world can tell when they… Read more »
Well, there go my plans to travel to Austin and accessorize my life with Julie.
But you could hurry on down and collaborate with me! I think that would be mighty fine!
Joanna:
Yeah, it definitely only works for a certain group of people… And even then I worry that it’s not that healthy. When I look back at the relationships I started where a guy used what are now known as “Negs”, they weren’t the healthiest in my life.
And, there you have the basis for the “Girls only go for the jerks/bad guys” stereotype…
“The basic principles of PUA were being used by guys when I was 15 years old, and when my mom was 15 years old.”
That sounds like a parallel cheerleader universe that I could always see but never live in. If you saw me at 15 (when I looked 12), you would scoff at the idea of picking up anyone, despite having all the desires and urges that go with being 15.
Well, the women were using those techniques too. A lot of us geeks were using them as well, just not dating as much, only using them for fun and theater. I didn’t date much in high school. Not many of my friends actually did. But as we aged and learned how to refine those skills and actually like ourselves and people like us, yeah, dating and fun happened. No need for me to be bitter about cheerleaders having more than I did at the time, my life turned out fine.
@Joanna: Jepp. I remember reading Richard Feynman’s (who was known as a ladies man) autobiography. According to it the turning point in his relationship with women was some advice he got that made me go “This is basic PUA” and that happened in the late 40s/early 50s (don’t remember exactly)
Joann, I’m curious. PUA books seem like they go out of their way to make the reader feel really weird for even picking up their book. I’m sorry “targets”? whether its to be taken literally or not, its still unnecessary language. I feel like I’m being psychologically manipulated when I read that stuff and I’m given more fluff than advice. Even sex positive writers like Rachel Rabbit White claim to be only able to partially sympathize with men who must resort to their use. Clarisse Thorn also once wrote that PUA has a monopoly on “effective” pick up advice. Why… Read more »
Yes, Joanna. The techniques are nothing new and are neutral for the most part in what they are. It’s how they are used and with what intent. He broke down an interaction well, starting with the “I wasn’t actually looking to get laid but open to adventure” and “I honestly had interest in her sketches (wasn’t lying about being an artist.” and so forth. There are hundreds are lovely encounters like this all the time. I’ve had lots. When they are reasonably organic and not to a formula approach (if I do this I will win the goal) they feel… Read more »