Okay guys, I went to the mall today at 4 PM. When I got there, it took me a while to run an opener, but eventually I did. About 10 minutes in. I was walking in front of two people, I slowed down, I turned around and I said:

"Hey guys, do you know a good clothing store? I'm looking for clothes for the club."

Yes, it sounds weird, especially in a mall, where there are a lot of stores, but I was wondering if they could tell me a specific name of a store to go to.

I asked 4 questions (I ran 4 openers). Now, when you ask a question, or run an opener, does that mean you opened the set? A1 is complete when you reach the social hook point, right? So, I opened the sets, but I didn't necessarily complete A1.

I know what my problem is with my game. Good openers. I have an extremely difficult time coming up with questions to ask.

The questions I came up with, for the mall, were:

1. Hey guys, do you know a good clothing store for guys?

2. Hey guys, do you know where the bathroom is?

3. Hey guys, what shirt is good for the clubs, polos or regular t-shirts?

I don't know why, but I just lack the ability to come up with good openers. It sucks badly. I don't like using canned material, because I don't like a lot of what I see, and I think if you use canned material, you have a higher chance of being called out. So I like to use original, natural openers.

One thing I realized too, today, is that the mall isn't the greatest place to train. I thought it would be because it is a target-rich environment, but there are a lot of moving sets. Moving sets are harder to open than standing sets. I felt awkward too. It feels really awkward and weird going up to people you never met before, and just asking a simple question.

if i understood correctly its not so much what you say but how you say it ... ur supposed to smile for a sec and show real interest in what your wearing
obviously it feels weird to just randomly say something to a person but thats how it is ... know what? whats the worst that can happen ... these are people you will never see again and u can just walk away laughing about if they piss u off ....
i'm stuck on openers to but i understand its easier to open groups than single people and of course u shouldn't show interest in ur target until giving her a few negs (depending on her rating)
the mindset that i'm adapting is the "i don't give a fuck about u but i'm just chillin attitude" u have to actually believe it (it makes sense and isnt to hard)

The-candy, welcome to the forums.

Currious, congrats on your first day out. Its a big step, that most people never take unfortunately.

As far as openers go, a lot of people start off with "canned" openers. Although many will argue that canned openers won't help you in the long run, I beg to differ. Canned openers get rid of the whole process of thinking up an opener. This is great for a beginner, who's got all sorts of things running through his head. Over time, you'll find that you're less and less dependent on them, and the same is true for every aspect of pick-up. eventually you'll end up talking to people naturally.

And what's wrong with getting called out? It's happened to me before, and it's actually worked out really well. There are tons of answers to that. "Yeah, I told my friend it wouldn't work, but he didn't believe me. So the only way to figure it out was to find some girls and try it out " works quite well IMHO.

The idea behind pick-up theory is to make you more socially active. Getting with women is just a side effect of that

_________________
Mimicking an artist never leads to true success... However becoming an artist mimicked is true success

I agree with The Candy, you just have to not give a shit. Thats what messed me up when i barely started, I kept thinking about gaming too much I mean sure when you go sarging you want to game but you have to learn to not think about gaming just go and have fun AND MOST IMPORTANTLY DONT GIVE A FUCK! If you see a chick with a nice watch or bracelet just fuck it and complement her on it.

That's very insightful. Thank you! I appreciate it.

You're absolutely right. So what if I get called out? I'll take your advice when I go out next time.

Just one thing, how come I can't come up with good openers? For some reason, I can't think of anything to ask. I thought for sure things would come to mind, but really nothing comes to mind. I'm walking down the mall, and I'm thinking to myself "What can I ask somebody?" And like nothing comes to mind.

Is this a good opener, "Who has it easier in life, guys or girls?" Then if the girls say "Guys," you can say "Well, do you know how hard it is to approach strangers? I'm a guy, I have to do it. You don't have to." Almost like a neg in a way. But, at the same time, you have to be careful with what you say, because you don't want to offend anyone, or come off as sexist.

And welcome to the board as well, The-candy.

It takes practice to be able to think on your feet. I'm decent at it now-a-days, but back when I was first introduced to Pick-Up, It would take me forever to think on my feet. I'd find myself coming up with a great response to something like hours after it was over. I've still got room to improve though. My roommate is a natural, and good god he's quick on his toes.

One thing we do occasionally is have little "rap battles." Sounds incredibly gay, but it's one of the best exercises to get thinking quickly.

Not a bad opener though. Try it out, calibrate it, and master it. As for my favorite opener though.... a simple "Hi "

_________________
Mimicking an artist never leads to true success... However becoming an artist mimicked is true success