Something I've noticed with even the best pickup artists is that they don't structure their sentences to have maximum impact. Take for example:

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought you were cute."

Seemingly decent sentence, right? Wrong. There are three things wrong with this sentence:

  1. Never us the phrase "excuse me". It is what beggars use in the street. Get their attention using the word "hey", making eye contact, and waving your hand.

  2. Never apologize for your presence. It is weak. Don't ever apologize for doing something the woman in fact appreciates. Instead say something along the lines of "I don't mean to interrupt".

  3. Never use the past tense. The past tense takes out less of the impact of the compliment. It is stronger to say "I think you are cute" or "you are cute" instead of "I thought you were cute".

Here is the same sentence, corrected:

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think you are cute."

Much better. Same message, stronger impact.