Hari Krishna's used to ask for donations, but were unsuccessful because of their strange dress and hair style. They started giving out flowers as a 'gift', forcing the gift on strangers and then asking for a donation. This was very successful due to the social Law of Reciprocity. People eventually caught on and avoided them, so they started dressing normally to surprise people.

In the same sense, "Let me buy you a drink." must have worked in the initial openings, but it has been worn out. Women have become keen on "If he buys me a drink, I'll need to have sex with him" or "He's trying to get me drunk, so he can sleep with me."

I love it when a 3 set walks in the bar with 1 male in the set. I will friend him and buy him a drink, excluding the two women from our 'party'. It drives the women nuts, because they are no longer the center attention and they have to pay for their own drinks.

Not only do gifts fall under the Law of Reciprocity, but also "concessions".

"Suppose you want me to agree to a certain request. One way to increase your chances would be first to make a larger request of me, one that I will most likely turn down. Then, after I have refused, you would make the smaller request that you were really interested in all along. Provided that you have structured your requests skillfully, I should view your second request as a concession to me and should feel inclined to respond with a concession of my own, the only one I would have immediately open to me-compliance with your second request." ~ Robert B. Cialdini


"There is an obligation to give, an obligation to receive, and an obligation to repay." ~ Marcel Mauss

It's interesting that we now use the opposite strategy in openings. Think about this statement, "Can you do me a favor?" I'm playing on the social obligation for her to give, invoking a mental "lock-in-prop" of my obligation to repay. If she does me the favor, I am now obligated to her. We are establishing relationship bonds, which eventually builds up to the bedroom (I'll repay you by letting you suck my cock).

Can we still use the obligation to receive as an opener creating indebtedness in her, or is it more powerful to place the obligation on us? Do we run the risk of DLVing by giving in the opening? I think it's dangerous unless we combine it with other social dynamics.

"Can you do me a favor? I've got a riddle I would like you to try and solve, and if you get it right you win a prize. Ready? I'm offered to the loved, and also to the dead. I come in many varied hues, most notably red." When she says "Rose", hand her a rose napkin (search YouTube for 'rose napkin' to learn how to make one)

How about cocky-funny using "concessions"? Can I buy you a drink? -before she answers "Bartender, I'd like to buy a glass of water for...what's your name? Stacy? A glass of water for Stacy please, and make it a double."