(Photo courtesy of fromthebarn.org)
By PJ Marcello, Staff Writer marcello13@up.edu
Hey fellas, we have all been there. There is a girl is in your class or having lunch that you want to talk to, but you just do not know how to approach her or what to say. Instead of doing anything about it, maybe you just dismiss it and are left to ponder what could have been.
I'm here to tell you do not be that guy. I have been that guy my entire life, never stepping up to ask a girl that I like out. This is no way to go through college, or more importantly, life. I know this because of this article. The Beacon asked if I wanted to test pick-up lines and approaches and do an article, and the results surprised me.
Amanda and I went to the Commons on a Saturday afternoon and came up on some lines and scenarios that would reflect a real-life pick-up attempt. According to a study by communication researchers at West Virginia, Bloomsburg, and Oakland Universities, there are four common approaches in trying to start a conversation with a person of romantic interest.
These approaches are: direct introduction, 3rd person introduction, direct compliment and the traditional cheesy or "cute-flippant" line.
Males
First is the direct introduction. For this we simply approached our target person, introduced ourselves and started up a conversation. The technique caused a little awkwardness but overall was embraced by the women I talked to.
Sophomore Erin Kelly thought that she would be comfortable with a basic one-to-one first person introduction.
"I would be surprised to be approached like that but it's just unexpected, not creepy. It wouldn't be scary," Kelly said.
Similar results followed when we offered a 3rd party introduction where we set up the scenario of Amanda introducing me to them as a friend.
"I would feel more comfortable if I met someone like this because getting introduced by a mutual friend means you know you have generally the same interests," Wilson said.
The third form for picking someone up was a direct compliment. For this, I sat down next to a girl and said, "Hey, sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help noticing your beautiful eyes and just had to talk to you."
This was by far the least effective method of starting a conversation. Participants suggested that it did not come across as genuine and created more awkwardness than interest.
"It's really uncomfortable," Wilson said. "I would just say thank you."
Kelly echoed the disinterest in being acknowledged with a direct compliment right off the bat by a stranger.
"Its cheesy, and I would try to end that conversation really fast," Kelly said. "It just makes me uncomfortable."
With that approach producing horrible results both times, I was left to my biggest fear and the approach I anticipated to be the least successful and possibly most offensive. It was the dreaded stereotypical pick-up line.
The classic pick-up line was the
most awkward of the four approaches
as the instigator of the conversation,
but what surprised me were the results.
While it was not effective for
both participants, it went over far better
than I anticipated.
"I would definitely laugh, and
maybe be confused, but I think that
would be really effective," Wilson
said.
When rating her favorite of the
options we showed her, Wilson chose
the cheesy line as her favorite of the
bunch because it showed creativity
and a good sense of humor.
Kelly was not as amused with the
line, and responded just about how I
expected.
"That was cheesy, and I don't like
that mushy stuff, I would try to end
that conversation right away too,"
Kelly said.
