My biggest problem when trying to pick up girls is that I never really get over the initial phase of the conversation.

Like I have no problem with approaching women, I'll talk to them for a few minutes, get to know them, crack a few jokes to get them to laugh and then... Nothing. I'll just run out of things to say, feel the attraction fade away and then she almost always excuses herself to the toilet or says she has to be somewhere and I never see her again.

How do I move from that initial "getting to know each other" basic conversation to a more flirty one and how do I build sexual tension?

I know you should always start to touch her arm or something and see how she reacts and go on from there, but I always feel so awkward when doing so and I know that the girls notice that I'm not really confident in what I'm doing.

Anyone got any tips on how to get better with that?