By Varun Mannava (Pub Reviewer & the Author of the *Bestseller book “Polite Pickup Lines in Indian Pubs” buy now on Amazon — CLICK HERE )

Let’s be honest. We are in India. I wrote a book named “Polite Pickup Lines in Indian Pubs” and I got judged every time I informed that to a curious listener (except say 1% of them). So I am not going to spoil the scope and reach of this article by calling it pickup lines for online dating apps.

Just google “Conversation starters for Tinder” and you will see a million blogs on this topic. So how am I adding value to the already existing Gyan (knowledge) about how to impress the opposite sex?

I am going to give you just 2 basic tips on how to say whatever you truly feel like saying and still evoke a response. Yes! Oh, the bonus is, this works offline too!

Invoke the Universe! And how ?

When I mean universe, I assume you all know about the law of attraction! “Good thoughts attract good actions and results. Bad thoughts attract bad actions and results”. This is what the “Secret” says. However Buddha said the same thing 2500 years ago. But, the “Secret” is a lot cooler so the millennials follow that. Whatever your source may be, just follow the Universe and understand how it works.

Here’s how it works : You see a person on the online dating app and you really feel this person is the right one for you. After you have done some required research of course. I don’t care and I am not interested in how you are going to verify if everything written about the profile and the picture is 100% genuine or not. That’s your problem. Let’s proceed right on to my area of expertise. Invoking the Universe.

So once you have figured out that the person in the profile is the right match for you, take a few seconds to invoke some positive thoughts about your actions and consequences. One simple approach would be to say whatever you are going to say without any expectation of response in return. Even if it may or may not work in evoking a response, what it does for sure is not build anxiety in your “Mind” (Buddhists consider mind as the combination of Brain and Heart)! Why is it so necessary to keep your mind away from anxiety? Because you will be building castles of future and the more you build these castles, the more you are likely to be disappointed when there is a negative or no response from the person.

Wait patiently and the response will come. Ping!

Go the Cleopatra route

If you are not a believer in the Universe, which is 100% fine, I would suggest you take the Cleopatra route. Show off in a genuine way. That means don’t use someone else’s car / bike to pose for your profile pic. Show off with what you have. And combine this with a not too submissive approach while chatting. I am not asking you to hurt or ignore the person you are chatting with completely. But I am saying don’t give too much attention either! You don’t have to rush off chatting the same day. You will get more days to chat.

Obviously don’t compliment on the obvious features. The person would have heard it a thousand times. “Oh, you are so beautiful!” ; “Oh you have a great body” ; ya ya ya!! Rather construct a sentence around the compliment that engages a reply.  For example :

“Hey, you look great, but looks are not the only thing I am looking for!” sort of sentences…….

Read the profile and engage in the hobby talk if you like the person’s hobby but then again, don’t praise too much or let the person know you are head over heels with them too soon. Online chats (just like relationships) flourish when there is a constant feed of challenge. When challenge dies, the chat is no longer engaging.

Always keep a hook on to your conversations. Don’t overdo it but keep a healthy hook. That means you don’t ask questions where the only answer could be a “Yes” or a “No”!

Let me know how these 2 scenarios worked for you. Mail me at workaholicvarun@gmail.com!