Summer television has become like summer beach reading for me: filled with guilty pleasures. Lately, I’ve enjoyed the VH1 series The Pick-Up Artist in which a guy named Mystery in a fuzzy hat and/or goggles teaches a group of nerds how to pick up women. It’s got many great cringe-worthy moments and is strangely entertaining.
Midway through the first episode, I found myself thinking: Why can’t companies use the same advice these nerds are using but instead of picking up women, using the advice to make themselves more attractive to partners, customers, and clients? Turns out, the advice translates pretty well. To whit:
Peacock theory. No one is going to come talk to you unless you put on a display. Make yourself stand out. Don’t be afraid to be unusual. But don’t take it too far. You don’t want to be a freak.
Have a gameplan. “If you don’t open, you won’t get the girl.” Have something to say to get the conversation started — with partners, clients, customers. But don’t be overly invested in them — don’t depend on their validation for your self-worth. But have something provocative to say. A question works well.
Attract, don’t comfort immediately. Once you have caught attention, don’t immediately make the other person comfortable. You want to interest them instead. This makes you more attractive. You can make them comfortable later — after they are attracted to you.
Be interesting. “If you are interesting, people will be interested in you.” Speak with passion and enthusiasm — it almost doesn’t matter what you talk about as long as you care about it. You need stories, lots of stories. These let people know you have a full life and don’t need them in it, necessarily. Make them want to be part of your life.
Demonstrate your value. Show through stories that you are interesting and worth talking to.
Set boundaries. You have to set up the rules for how you want to be treated. Be willing and able to walk away. Make them earn your interest.
Looks aren’t enough. You need game!
The Pick-Up Artist airs Mondays at 9 on VH1. More insights as “Mystery” reveals them!
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Just now I checked out Twist, a site that lets you chart how much folks are twittering about a topic and plots them against each other, over time. It’s a neat way to see how topics ebb and flow. I thought it would be neat to see how much the five senses are talked about on Twitter. 
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