14 DAY TRIAL // Women who also happen to be skilled conversationalists may find their prowess with words comes to little help when chatting up a strange man. A new study has found that men favor the direct approach when it comes to a woman flirting with them on account of their incapacity to “read” hints, even when they are accompanied by body language.
Researchers at the Bucknell University in Pennsylvania have learned that, while women might be attracted to men who can have a certain way with words, for the latter this is exactly the opposite. Men, they say, are unable to read hints, therefore prefer the direct approach, with lines such as “Do you have any plans for later?” or even “What are you doing tonight?” or, even better, “Here’s my phone number.”
These messages, as opposed to the by-now classic line “Do I know you from somewhere? You look very familiar.” are better understood by men, leaving no room for doubt as to whether the initial contact might lead, researchers say.
The study involved a group of women and 70 men. The ladies were asked to write down their top pick-up lines, of which researchers selected the 50 most common ones. These, in turn, were presented to the men, who were asked to rate them. The conclusion was that they, unlike most women, preferred being approached directly, with an open invitation for a drink or a movie ranking first in the top of best lines. Second up came the exchange of phone numbers, with the above-mentioned invitations scoring third place.
Some women, researchers add, also rated the direct approach highly, but most of them preferred lines that were meant to establish some common interests between them and the man who was chatting them up, such as those on weather-related topics. “The direct indication of a possible date as well as the hint of a possible date gives the man a clear signal – instead of sending mixed non-verbal signals that the man must decipher.” psychologist Dr. Joel Wade tells the Daily Mail. Straightforward questions and suggestions remove any “uncertainty regarding the outcome of the interaction,” Dr. Wade further adds.
At the bottom of the list ranked, of course, humorous lines such as “Where have you been my life?” “Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?” and “Your shirt matches my bedspread: you belong in my bed” for both men and women. The worst line that women can use on men, though, is “Hello, how’s it going?” since it offers no indication as to the type of interaction desired, Dr. Wade concludes by saying.