PICK – UP LINES

“If I could re-arrange the alphabet I would place U and I together. You must be tired because you have been running through my mind the whole night.” These are some of the lines that Close-Up splashed on its advertisements some years back on a run-up to Valentines Day. You have probably heard or delivered worse.

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“Do you have any raisins?

“No”

“How about a date?”

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“Girl you better have a license because you are driving me crazy.” Or

“Your name must be Gillette because you are the best a man can get.”

Pick-up lines are meant to be a precise and simple way to get attention and start a conversation with someone you are interested in. But young men who have been ignored or laughed at after their pick-up lines fell flat would agree with me that it is not that easy. Perhaps it is because people use pick-up lines as a means to an end. They see it simply as a shortcut that will help them cover their shyness or fear of rejection.

Let’s face it you cannot expect to conquer someone using a simple sentence. In any case people do not take pick up lines that seriously. They think they are either being flattered or being played mind games with.

It is delivery more often than the line itself that makes the difference between success and failure. Girls appreciate the fact that it takes guts for men to gather courage and approach them. However, that is not a license for men to be untactful. As they say, first impressions really matter and that flat first joke may cost you a good friendship that could have been. Women like confident men, so when approaching them it would do well for men to maintain their cool rather than fidget, murmur, and stumble all over their words.

As a guy, since you know that you will eventually have to approach a girl sooner or later, - if you intend to get married – it pays to have a strategy. If you suck at it, it will be a good idea to practice, practice, practice. You can also ask for advice from some of your more charming friends.

There are different types of pick-up lines. There is the funny pick up line, ”Do you have a band aid? I just scraped my knee falling for you.” To carry this through, some sense of humor will be an added advantage. If you are not witty, steer clear of jokes if you want to avoid an embarrassing moment.

Then there is the smart pick-up line that sounds kind of intelligent,

“Can you give directions?”

“Where to?”

“Your heart.”

The direct pick up line, “Do you have the time (she tells you the time)

No, the time to write my number down,” Then the torturous or stale line that reeks of arrogance or one that you have heard one time too many times. “I am not the best looking guy in here, but I am the only one talking to you.”

When using a pick up line do not be too serious. Be confident, use the right tone of voice and have the right body language. Still, this does not guarantee a hundred percent success rate. In fact, it is said that the chances of a pick-up line working are really low.

Fortunately, according to research findings, there is one pick-up line that works almost all the time. According to the ‘Online Encyclopedia’, the University of Chicago carried out a study of pick up lines and came up with the most effective of them all. Guess what it is? Hi! Most often than not, people will respond to a simple Hi.

Once you are past the Hi stage and the person responds positively, don’t be tongue tied. Keep the conversation going by asking open ended questions. If the person does not respond favorably to your Hi, have a strategy to retreat gracefully. Probably say something witty, it will have the effect of leaving both of you on a light note.

By Julie Apondo