The Most Successful Pick Up
Line and Why it Works
Men
have long searched for the perfect phrase with which they could
introduce themselves to a woman.
They have tried poetic compliments, blunt one-liners and
millions of jokes. Some
have worked for some guys and have failed for others. Some have seemed to fail for every one who has
tried them.
Still, we search for awesome pick up lines that will instantly
melt a woman’s resolve and send her running into our arms.
We scour the internet and invest small fortunes in secrets
and tips designed to give us the perfect opening line with which
to approach that beautiful girl of our dreams.
The
pick-up line phenomena is so pervasive that its consideration
has reached outside the realm of would Don Juans and into
the world of respect academia. The University of Chicago, a highly-esteemed
university, has actually performed research on pick-up lines and
their effectiveness. They
discovered on particular introductory line any man can use that
is more likely to result in success than any other.
The
second most effective line was a question:
“How do you like the band?”
Of course, the effectiveness of this approach requires
that a band is, indeed, playing. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting line to consider
as we hope to learn what makes a pickup line successful. First, it creates a sense of camaraderie and
shared experience, which could be very helpful in the seduction
process. Second, it is phrased in the form of an open-ended
question that invites a conversational response. Third, it relates to a subject matter about
which the person questioned is certain to have an opinion, decreasing
the chance for confusion or quizzical silence.
The
second most popular pick-up line obviously has some strength,
right? It would seem to reason that the most effective
of all lines might follow a similar tact or be a variation on
the same general theme. However,
this is not the case. The
world’s most successful pick-up line is brief, to the point, and
surprisingly simple.
“Hi.”
Yes,
believe it or not, researchers have discovered that a simple greeting
is the most successful way to begin interacting with a woman. This finding shatters a great deal of the mythology
surrounding pick-up lines and decimates the need for men to spend
substantial time and effort in choosing the “right” opening line. The fact that “hi” is the most successful pick-up
line tells us a great deal about the seduction process.
It
advises us that there is no one perfect technique or set of lines
that guarantees results. It
let’s us know that the art of seduction is not premised simply
on a few spoken lines but involves a great deal more than a good
approach. It also tells
us that we cannot hope to be successful in finding women simply
by spouting off a few memorized utterances.
The fact that something as simple a “hi” can be the number one
pick-up line lets us know that the seduction process isn’t about
pick-up lines at all and can free us from trying to find the right
words from the get-go. Clearly, if “hi” is more likely to succeed than
any other recorded alternative, seduction is about more than a
line. Success doesn’t stem from a line, it would seem.
Instead, it stems from a total package.
Simply starting a conversation with “hi” may be enough
to allow you to put your other skills to work successfully.
“Hi”
reminds us to keep it simple and to consider all aspect of our
“game” instead of becoming preoccupied with a small portion of
the seduction process. The next time you see a soon to be failed Romeo
approaching a woman with what he believes to be a witty one-liner
that will get him everything he wants, you can sit back and smile
at just how naïve his perspective really is.
You’ll know that his odds were better with a simple “hi”
and that his elaborately planned approach is less likely to work
than a commonplace greeting.
Maybe
if the band is playing you might want to ask that gorgeous redhead
what she thinks about the music.
Otherwise, you might want to rely on a simple “hi.”
You can start a conversation and then put your real skills
to work.