Hey fellas, can you give me your thoughts on this opener/routine? I thought of it today, searched for things similar, but found nothing. It is likely not original, but here it is. I call it the "aspiring stand-up comedian" opener.
I'll run through it first as a day game/single person/quick #-close routine, then mention how I would change it for groups.
So it starts by approaching and asking, "Hey there, may I ask you for a small favor?" Then continue by saying something like, "I'm preparing for an upcoming open-mic. I'll be telling some jokes, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting up the courage to speak in front of a large group of strangers. I'm trying to get over this by telling a short joke to one stranger at a time. I figure that if I tell a joke to 100 strangers one at a time, it's basically the same at telling it to 100 at the same time. So, would you mind helping me out and letting me tell you a joke?"
Here, you are showing vulnerability, but also showing that you are confidently and actively trying to better yourself. You set up a time constraint when you say "one joke." By saying that you have told/will tell a bunch of people, you get rid of the assumption that you are approaching only because you are interested in her.
You then tell a joke. You can use your own judgement to decide what is appropriate at the time.
If she likes it and reacts positively, you can go on to say something like, "most of the people I've told this joke to listen, but don't really care and go on about their day. You, on the other hand, are a good sport for at least pretending to laugh." Then you have her on the defensive trying to convince you that she actually liked it. Then transition to a close by saying "I have to go, but if you DID actually like it, I could tell you a couple more over some coffee, ect."
If she doesn't like it, but actually does pretend to laugh, do much the same thing. Commend her for making the effort, but instead go for the number by saying something like, "You could tell me some better jokes or I could try a couple different ones over coffee sometime. Maybe ones you'll actually find funny."
In the case that she doesn't like it and makes that clear, instead say that most people pretend to like it, but that you appreciate her honesty. Then go with the "Tell me some of your own jokes or let me try some others over coffee bit."
If she is hesitant to give out her number, and since you are telling jokes anyway, you could always trade her another joke for her number to try to break through.
Even if you get the number, I think a second joke should be told, but instead frame it as a reward for taking the time to listen to you in the first place. I think of it as a follow through.
Now for the changes when approaching a group. Here, it can't be used as a quick #-close, but just an opener. Go through the first part, but instead of "telling one stranger at a time," you are "telling a small group, working your way up to a larger one." For this it would be wise to have several jokes prepared. That way, if when you aren't rejected, you can keep the bit going if it is working.
Let me know what you guys think. Is this something that would work? What would you change? Does anyone have any experience doing something similar?
[–]bcktth 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]VMikeL 3 points4 points5 points (8 children) | Copy Link
[–]BmoreNovicePUA[S] 2 points3 points4 points (7 children) | Copy Link
[–]BearBong 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]BmoreNovicePUA[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]VMikeL 0 points1 point2 points (4 children) | Copy Link
[–]MolsonIce 2 points3 points4 points (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]VMikeL 0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]MolsonIce 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]BmoreNovicePUA[S] 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]MolsonIce 0 points1 point2 points (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]BmoreNovicePUA[S] 0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]MolsonIce 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]NickCali221 point [recovered] | Copy Link