How to Meet Girls without Creeping Them Out

The science of first encounters

Jessica Wildfire
6 min readFeb 16, 2020

There’s nothing inherently sexist or evil about chatting up a girl in public — and asking her on a date. Almost everything that turns her off or creeps her out involves the how and why part.

So relax.

You can ask someone out at a coffee shop, a library, a laundromat, a grocery store, or even in the middle of the street.

But there’s a catch:

Absolutely nothing you say or do can make her like you if she’s not interested. The entire point of conversation is gauging her level of interest up front, and building rapport.

Humans like patterns and rituals. You can find one for just about any situation, including first encounters.

Obey the laws of greeting rituals

Linguists study how men and women interact in public. They’ve broken first encounters down into 5 stages:

  1. Sighting and recognition — you make eye contact. It’s easy. Just glance her way a few times. She’s not blind. If you’re attractive to her, she’ll notice you and return your looks.
  2. Distance salutation — smile at her. Wave. Do something to hold her eyes a few seconds longer. Establish mutual gaze, a brief moment when…

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