You observe what she’s doing, and you find an opener. She’s holding an AC/DC t-shirt, so you know you can walk over to her and say something simple like “Do you like AC/DC?”

So you start to walk over to her. Your heart starts beating faster. Your lip starts quivering. You start sweating, and you feel your face getting flushed.

When you get over to her, you ask her your “Do you like AC/DC” question. She responds, “Yes I do. They are one of my favorite bands.” So, now, what do you say next?

If you get stuck at this point in your approaches, then you are getting stuck in the opener zone. If you weren’t wondering what to say next, and stayed present, you would know there are any number of things you could say next.

You could say something like, “Really? It’s one of your favorite bands? That’s great. How long have you liked them for? That is a very cool t-shirt.” Then you would continue to talk about the t-shirt for the next minute or so.

She was attracted to you instantly because you walked over and actually had the guts to approach her. She told you with enthusiasm that she loves AC/DC, but you did not listen because you got stuck in the opener zone.

Getting past the opener is as simple as listening. When you talk to friends, do talk about the same thing over and over again — the t-shirt they’re wearing or how cool their car is or how much you like the song that’s playing? No, you listen to what they say and you continue the conversation.

Men tend to get stuck in the opener zone with women all the time. The key to avoiding this is to develop your listening skills. Here is a great exercise to do that.

Bring a digital recorder around with you. Record your conversations when you talk to women. Then when you play the conversations back, listen carefully to what the women say in response to your opener and write down what you could have said next based on what she said.

Work on this every single day, and you will start to become a master communicator. Become a person with whom people really enjoy talking, and you’ll be able to get past the opener very quickly.

The other day I was walking into a cafe, and I see this woman sitting in the corner wearing a t-shirt with the words “For Rent By The Hour” on it. I must admit that this led my mind to go in many different directions.

I mean, what did she mean by this? Could I rent her by the hour to clean my house? Does she perform sexual acts by the hour? Would she make herself available to do filing in my office by the hour?

I kept wondering what exactly she was willing to rent herself out by the hour to do. Then I thought to myself that this would be a great shirt to wear if you want to meet people.

So I walked over to her and said “I want to be 100% original here. I know people have come up to you asking what exactly is for rent by hour and what you are willing to do by the hour. I don’t want to do that. I want to ask you another question: Are you wearing this shirt to be more open to meeting people?”

She started laughing, then told me that she basically wears that shirt for that very reason since she finds most men have no idea how to approach her. She happened to be a stunning, absolutely beautiful blond but she said that most guys never approach her.

She said when she’s wearing that shirt, however, that guys will approach her all day long and she actually gets dates. Not only that, but she said she also gets a great selection of men who approach her when she’s wearing that shirt.

She said that for some odd reason or other, that shirt seems to make men feel for gutsy because it gives them an instant opening line when they approach her. So we talked about this for quite some time.

I asked her what the most clever thing is that any guy had ever said to her about the shirt. She said “Your remark is the most clever, because you are the only one who really wanted to know what people have said and done. Everybody else comes over and basically just asks me what they can get by the hour.”

I asked her why she continued to wear the shirt if that is what most guys said to her when they approached. She said that the shirt seemed to be the only way she is able to get dates.

I told her “That is a really sad thing because most men spend the majority of their energy trying to figure out how to approach women and what to say to them when they do, and most women are not open.” She told me that wearing that shirt makes her feel more open, because when she has so many guys approaching her she feels much more flirtatious and she gets to hand pick which guys she really wants to get to know more.

So if you’re a woman who has had a lot of trouble meeting men, why don’t you go buy a shirt that says “Rent Me By The Hour,” and see the reactions you get from men. Then enjoy the opportunity to do a lot of flirting and getting to pick and choose among them.

If you’re a guy, the next time you see a woman wearing a fun shirt it’s a great opportunity for you to be more creative and clever. According to this woman, she will pick the most creative and clever guy who approaches her and go out on a date with him.

Fortunately for me, I won that contest and was that guy. Unfortunately for me (since she was a phenomenal, cool, fun and sexy woman), I’m seeing someone and was not able to take advantage of it.

So ladies, take this woman’s advice. As for the men, stop commenting on the obvious and start being creative in your comments to women.

So what you need to do is look deep in your closets, and you need to figure out if you are the guy that always wears the free shirts.

How many shirts do you own from company picnics? How many shirts do you own from the Microsoft convention you went to? How about the trade show you went to last year, and you picked up six shirts because you thought it was so cool they were giving them out?

Let me tell you something – you don’t want to be that guy that walks around wearing free shirts. If you own logo shirts that say ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Google’ or ‘Adobe’ – or any other company – you are basically wearing clothes that you got for free, and what that tells women is that you’re too cheap to even buy yourself clothes.

Usually these free shirts also fit awfully, because generally they figure that one size fits all – they’ve got extra larges, they have larges – and you’re a small. You’re wearing that shirt that droops off over your shoulders – it doesn’t even look good – and it’s got a company emblem on it too.

What you’re telling the opposite sex is that you’re too cheap. By wearing these shirts, you’re telling women that you’re going to be cheap with them to.

When you’re dating somebody, she doesn’t want for you to come home and say, “honey, look what I got you at the Microsoft convention – a couple of free t-shirts! Feel – 100% cotton!”

Not only that, but the 100% cotton that they use is the worst cotton in the world – these shirts are starchy, itchy, and they don’t fit right. There is nothing cool about them, so don’t be that guy.

If you have these clothes in your wardrobe, you need to get rid of them – immediately. You need to do some shopping. You don’t want to be the guy who walks around in Free Shirt Land.