So lately I've been trying to bridge the gap between canned openers and just walking up to women and saying "hi, my name is johnny_77." I think it's not great to rely on canned material because once it runs out, you're done, but I also haven't had to much success approaching women (especially in groups) and just saying hi. The best results I have found are using the situation around you to create an excuse to talk to them and then transitioning into a natural conversation.

Example: I was in Chicago recently with two friends, both male. We're at a bar and see two women at the actual bar that I want to talk to. Instead of just going up and introducing myself, I created a "canned" opener in my head based on the situation. It was basically along the lines of "hey, we're just visiting Chicago and you two look like you're from here and know a thing or two about beer. We were wondering if there's any good microbrews in town?" I wasn't really interested in a microbrew, but it worked well and opened many avenues of natural conversation, from beers to why we were traveling. Ended with a number close.

I don't know because I didn't try, but it felt like using a situational opener like the one I described resulted in less defenses and opened a naturally flowing conversation than if I had just gone in with "hi, I'm johnny_77."

Anybody else's thoughts on the matter? Also, I'm semi-casual, so if there's a term for what I described that I am unaware of, I would appreciate being filled in.