Do you see an attractive, available woman in a social setting and wish you had the courage to approach her? Many men stumble here, right at the first hurdle. Why does it take so much confidence to approach a woman? More importantly, how can you gain the confidence to approach a woman? Here are five of my tips for successful approaches.

1. Don’t think about it too much. Many men think so hard and for so long about approaching a woman, trying to imagine all the approaches they can think of, to decide which one is likely to work best. In the mean time, the woman leaves, or another man approaches the woman you were looking at. Women aren’t expecting an approach to be absolutely perfect; indeed, they’re probably looking for some sign of nerves. At this point, it’s very easy to come across as over-confident. If you find a woman you want to approach, do it fast.

2. If you haven’t much experience in approaching women, you need to gain experience. Do this by approaching women without trying to pick them up. Start off small; if you’re just asking for an opinion about something you’re planning to buy, you don’t need nearly as much confidence. When you’re used to doing that, you can change your technique so that you get to make small talk with women.

3. Don’t be concerned about rejection! You can easily be rejected for reasons beyond your control. The main thing that is likely to sap your confidence is worrying that you’ll be shot down in flames by the women you approach. It’s important not to think that this is likely to happen, because you will start to worry. If you’re rejected, there are plenty of fish in the sea!

4. Trick yourself into believing that you’re approaching a friend that you haven’t seen for ages. If you do this, you’ll end up with a nice, warm smile on your face, and you won’t come across as creepy or desperate.

5. Don’t think you’re approaching the woman to date her. Instead, think that she might be an interesting woman to make friends with. This needs less confidence; it will also tend to remove any subliminal signs of desperation that you may have.