i see your point about luke... but for me, as long as he is transmitting ACCURATE INFORMATION and the information itself is sound, i don't really care if he's fing ten chicks a day or is a PARROT.
the only issue is if the info is good.
and considering that a great deal of "experts" here give advice so broad as to be able to cover the side of a battleship, so general as to put patton to shame, detailed, parroted advice from novices is indeed appreciated.
seriously, a lot of advice here is so vague as to simply be no less than valuable than if the person wrote nothing at all... details and specifics seem to be anathema.
thanks rocky for your detailed info though. but if you meet someone as they are heading off to someplace (likely on the street or in a mall), your ability to squeeze in a conversation seems extremely limited though.
ALSO, the conversation seems MORE AWKWARD to me in some ways because the girl is thinking in her mind, WHAT IS THIS GUY DOING? WHY IS HE TALKING TO ME WHEN I'M TRYING TO GET SOMEWHERE?
(example from today, at border's books, i approached a really nice looking brunette wearing high platforms and a very short skirt... went right up to her [first time i actually literally obeyed the 3 second rule] and said hi. she seemed utterly confused about what was happening. haltingly, she said hi back. not the best but because of 3 sec rule, i had nothing prepared, i asked her if she came here often... again, shocked silence and then... "no".... at that point, she wasn't into it or responding to me so i smiled and said, "ummm, i'm going to leave you alone..." and i walked away.)
at least in giving your name, getting hers, and then asking for number... it immediately becomes clear what your purpose is.
AND, if she is incredulous and nonplussed as she very well might be, THEN, you can have a conversation specifically relevant to what's going on. then, you can cajole her.
and thanks for ACTUAL EXAMPLES OF NUMBER CLOSE LINES!!! That's the kinda stuff i'm looking for! great.
thanks cmd but conversation per se, is not my issue. if name,name,number is not the way to go, then the issue becomes how do you accost someone who's on their way somewhere... at one point do you bail because you can see on their face that they're not into it? if it's more complicated then i need more info.