From the original article on August 3, 2012. Author: Chateau Heartiste.
In reference to my “eye contact game” post, reader “Sword” demurs:
Not bad, only comment is your suggestion that after holding eye contact you come up and dont talk to her, kind of reeks of beta the ‘hey i sure hope she notices me!’
I hope that wasn’t the impression I left, because I agree, sidling up to the girl and waiting for her to say something first while you smile and raise your eyebrows inquisitively in her general direction is truly, epically beta.
No, what I meant was that you should allow a second or two to pass before opening your mouth. This pregnant pause builds tension, which is one of the godly pillars of the kingdom of tingle. When you have exchanged eyeplay with a girl and walked up to her, she will expect you to start introducing yourself right away. For example:
EYEPLAY!
{walk over, stand next to her}
Her: {oh boy oh boy he’s coming over. he’s here! i hope my hair looks ok}
You: Hey.
Her: Hey.
You: I’m Cornholio. {extends hand}
Boring. Sure, she already likes you, so you can afford to be a little predictable. But why fulfill her expectations so patently? Do you know what alpha males never do? Fulfill girls’ expectations! A desirable man demonstrates his higher status by making girls just a leeeetle bit uncomfortable in his presence. You want to get a girl thinking, “What the hell is this sculpted block of manhood going to do next?” For example:
EYEPLAY!
{walk over, stand next to her}
Her: {oh boy oh boy he’s coming over. he’s here! i hope my vaj doesn’t stink}
You: {look at her. smile. bring your drink up to your lips. sip slowly. put drink down. look down. look back at her}
Her: {what’s this? Is he going to speak? criminy, my clit just buzzed. i feel so judgified}
You: They don’t make old fashioneds the way they used to. Oh, almost forgot... hi.
Her: HI! {ORGASM}
See the difference? The pregnant pause, coupled with the unexpected opener, are two of the macronutrients of the female romantic fantasy diet. Recommended daily allowance? Infinity percent!
Besides building welcome tension into a pickup by fucking with a girl’s expectations, the pregnant pause also serves as an underhanded tactic for gauging her running interest in you. If you’re the type of guy who likes to talk a lot, you might have a hard time accurately judging just how much a girl is really into you. You might be too busy yapping to read her body language signals. Plus, the less a girl talks, the less data you have to go on to assess her interest level. The calculated pregnant pause, which you can drop in a conversation at any time, allows you to judge a girl’s interest level by the quickness with which she restarts the conversation. A girl who likes you won’t feel comfortable letting the convo fall silent for very long; she will reinitiate because your silence will be read by her as your declining interest. A girl who is bored with you will use your pregnant pause as a chance to excuse herself.
Finally, the incontrovertible fact is that pregnant pauses are self-evidently ALPHA. Watch what betas do when they run out of things to say. They flail. They say stupid shit. Their voice pitch rises. They look around nervously. They pull at their shirt sleeves and do other sorts of insecurity revealing body language mistakes. THEY are the ones who get uncomfortable.
Then watch an alpha male when he wants to take a breather from talking. He stops. He smiles. He slowly exhales. He lets the silence waft over him and the girl like a perfumed veil. He doesn’t force the issue. He doesn’t tug at his clothes, or scratch some body part that doesn’t need scratching. SHE is the one who gets uncomfortable. Her discomfort translates into your perceived higher status, and nudges her into the chaser role where she inevitably feels compelled to reengage you. And from there, it’s like taking pellets from a hamster.
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