<location: the mall>
(in case you’re wondering, i am practicing at the mall because it is a target-rich environment and it isn’t too far away. field testing is costing me a lot in gas – to go somewhere farther would be even worse, and supermarkets are not so target-rich. if anyone has any other ideas, please do share.)

i went to the mall to practice opening. i tried a sort of situational opinion opener. i pulled a few necklaces off the rack at AE and looked around for a target as i did so. i noticed this girl at the sunglass rack, probably an 8. i was right about to pull a move where i touched her shoulder (kino) and turned her around, but then she moved right as i was about to do it and started to leave the store. Now i’d look weird if i went after her with the opener, because then i’d be chasing her, and it would lose its casual edge.
and i had to choose another target quickly, otherwise i could look weird just wandering around, looking for a good target, (3-second rule).
so i chose another target, HB7. she was standing behind a column with merchandise hanging on it. i said “excuse me, can i get your opinion on something? which of these necklaces looks better on me?”
she just turned, and at first, i wasn’t sure if she was going to respond positively or not (theoretically the opener is supposed to get a positive response, but that doesn’t mean that i don’t wonder anyway). she responded and said “i like this one.”
i held it up. “This one?”
“Yeah.”
dang it! i fell into the trap, for the first time, that i keep reading about everywhere. i couldn’t get a transition. i floundered, trying to think of something. i had some DHV story ideas, but what good are they when i can’t even get a transition into normal conversation. Not to mention the fact that i can’t just sit there for 5 minutes scanning my mind for something to say. So i ended up bailing and said “Thanks!” and went back over to the necklace rack. I checked to make sure she wasn’t watching, and then put them all back and left the store.

i’m trying to get myself used to the idea of opinion openers, or the usage thereof. i have difficulties with the idea of going up to some random girl and asking her her opinion on some random thing. i feel so weird doing it, and by “weird” i don’t mean an uneasy feeling, but i mean i feel like an annoying salesperson walking up and forcing myself onto other people, or some weirdo that doesn’t know normal social boundaries. i need to get past this sticking point.
i’ve been irked at myself for my apparent inability to just open a random set with a random opinion opener. AA is still a problem, but i’ve been able to get past it somewhat. but then I hit my sticking point on the opinion opener and fail to approach them.
obviously, if there’s a situational opener I can think of, I use that because it gets me past both, and into a “normal” conversation from where I can hope to use other techniques.

I did this in a different clothing store. I saw a 2-set checking out swimsuits. I saw this both as a chance to try the opener again, and to open a 2-set for the first time. I first took the time to make sure I was picking decent-looking sunglasses (I don’t want to DLV myself to the set by picking out horrible choices) and walked over to them, coming up from behind, in between both of them.

2-set > HB5 & HB6
I removed the “excuse me, can I get your opinion on something” to make it sound more natural that i’m getting their opinion. i’m not sure if that harms the opinion opener in any way, does it?
me: “Hey guys, could you help me out. Which pair of sunglasses looks better on me?”
they turned and looked at me. I tried both pairs on in front of them.
HBs: “Those ones look way better.”
okay, either I need a new opener, or I need a good transition. I had even thought of some good things to talk about and brainstormed transitions between the stores, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember any of it! I frantically searched for something, anything, to talk about. (On the bright side, their response to me was positive, opening up and smiling and giving positive BL and a good vibe.)
me: “ooh, swimsuits! Are you going to a pool party?” (with a smile and wink)
HBs: “Maybe. We love pool parties.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I got stuck again at this transition sticking point.
me (bailing out): “Hey, well, have fun with that. See you later.”

any advice on this sticking point, or anything else? should i ditch this opener, or just follow it up better? am i missing something?

_________________
>>> ascend to the next level

~Luminova~

I think you have the right idea with the opinion openers, and you seem confident enough to pull them off which is most of the problem for guys, but what I found was that if you know that you are going to use a line, then figure out a transition for the possible responses since after being " accepted" into the group, conversation becomes a lot easier

add something along these lines:

"Which one looks better on me? Now I know what your thinking, he looks gorgeous either way, but if you absolutely had to pick one..." say it in a humorously over-dramatic way. and put in a lot of pauses to really grab their attention.

or about the pool party thing:

"We love pool parties"
"Alright FINE we'll throw a pool party then, jeez you don't have beg me"

say things that are a playfully absurd, and be confident about it. haha. if you create a flirty vibe, you won't really need to force a "transition". let me know how things work out if you go at it again