In the field the number one problem I see with newbie (and some not so new) PUAs is the inability to open sets. If you can’t open a set, you can’t PU.
The reason most PUAs don’t open sets is that they don’t have an opener they LOVE, that’s also congruent with their personality/image.
There’s lots of ways to open. Here is _A_ way (not THE way) to generate structured openers that work consistently.
Step 1: “Hey guys…”
Step 2: Hook question: “What’s a man supposed to do for a woman at a revolving door?”
The hook question is succinct, easily understood and pertains to something that will likely get your target to answer. It’s ‘GIRL RELEVANT.’ It’s one sentence, no more.
Step 3: Pause for a response. “Get the door for her.”
Step 4: Calibrate and address their response, either with PLAYFUL busting, which I usually do with a mini cold read: “You know, you have a profound grasp of the obvious,” (again _PLAYFULLY_,) or with a general statement: “Um, duh.”
Step 5: General riffing off their response, Cocky & Playful banter, teasing, etc.
Step 6: Post-opener story: This is a story that’s meant to follow and explain your opening question while building interest and attraction by being engaging. It should be tight, succinct and build to a punch line.
For example: “So get this. The other day I’m walking into Neiman’s and I see the reflection of this woman walking behind me. So I get to the revolving door and I thought I’d push it to get it started moving, and then let her go by. But then I panicked and got in the same little stall as her. So then I sorta reached around her and kinda dry-humped her into the store. (I’ll act this out w/ one of the girls in set.)We finally spilled inside and she turns to me with this funny look and says, (huge pause, funny look) ‘Um, Am I supposed to tip you?'”
Now here’s the thing about a post opener story: you don’t need to tell it. In the beginning, when working with a new opener you do, so you get it down. After that, you always have that story on tap for if you feel like you’re stalling. But as you get better at pick-up, it’s common to just roll into playful banter and teasing and skip the post-opener story all together. Learning it and having it down pat gives you a safety net. Having a safety net means you’re more confident because you know you won’t stall. So now you rarely do stall as you’re not worried about it.
So, to re-cap:
- Hey guys…
- Hook question: What’s a man supposed to do for a woman at a revolving door?
- They respond
- You bust on their response
- Cocky & Funny Banter
- Post-opener story leading to punchline
Learning to open sets well is like learning to hit the ball straight in golf; there’s a lot more to learn, but just being able to do this makes the game fun.