Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The women out there are going to either shower me with praise or want to wring my neck by the end of this article so, insert you're welcome/ I'm sorry right here.
After writing about how to start a conversation with a really boring person, a couple of my male friends asked me to enlighten them (and indeed 82 per cent of the male population) on how to talk to and chat up girls ... with one of them claiming that if a man didn't look like an Adonis, he didn't stand a chance when trying to keep a girl's attention for more than a couple of minutes.
First, and foremost, be observant. Women go to bars for various reasons, sometimes it's to have a few laughs and meet guys and other times it's to have fun with their female friends - and if the latter then you're only setting yourself up for a fall if you try to get in the middle of that.
If you get a nice girl, she'll say thanks but no thanks but if trying your luck with a girl that's had a drink or two and is a little fed up of being interrupted by a string of men, the likelihood is her entire group of friends will turn on you like an army of avenging demons.
Look at the body language and see if the girl you've set your sights on is in anyway opening up to the room. If she's sitting in a tight group or with her back to the room it's a safe bet that she doesn't want interference from anyone other than the people she's sitting with. If, on the other hand, her body is facing towards the room or she's leaning back and looking around, there's a good chance she'd be open to meeting someone.
The next thing I'd have to say is don't, under any circumstances, go up to a girl based purely on the fact that you think she's attractive. By that I mean, make sure that your advances might be welcomed before you go and talk to her. Stand nearby and try to catch her eye. Trust me when I tell you that she has scoped the room from the second she's walked in and has already sorted every male in the room into her 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe' piles.
That might sound harsh but it's a reality for both men and women and if she doesn't look your way at some stage then she's already dismissed you as a non starter.
This is the stage when most of my male friends will say something long the lines of 'yes but she hasn't met me yet so she doesn't realise how funny/ smart/ sweet I am'.
Let me just tell you straight; it doesn't matter. If you go up and talk to her even after she studiously ignored all your attempts to catch her eye, at best she'll be polite for a few minutes and then make an excuse to leave, at worst she'll look at you with distaste and walk away.
OK, so you've been observant and haven't tried to push yourself on someone that isn't interested, the rest is plain sailing as long as you avoid cheesy chat-up lines.
You're armed and ready now, so go forth and chat up that chick!
