Before you can start seeing a woman and showing her your true colours, you need to meet her and get to know her before you embark on a romantic journey. Sparking a conversation can feel forced and contrived, and it can be painfully awkward at times, but there are some tips you can use to ease into it and make it flow more naturally. When it flows naturally, you’ll both feel more comfortable around each other, and she’ll find you more interesting and compatible than the other guy. Here we go!

Step 1: Make and maintain good eye contact. You need to be comfortable enough around her to look her in the eyes and get to know her, otherwise she’ll think you’re weak and passive. Don’t look too long, otherwise you may come off as a tad bit creepy, but make sure she looks into your eyes for a good minute.

Step 2: Take in your surroundings and bring up something present to talk about. This will seem more natural than bringing up a movie or a current event because it is something present and available for both of you to comment on.

Step 3: Get her name after a couple of minutes. Don’t feel rushed to get it before you talk about anything. Asking for the name before you start casual talk could make it pretty clear that you’re rushing into it.

Step 4: You may not want to talk for too long during the first encounter. Leave some things for the future and don’t let her feel like she’ll have your ear all night long.

Keep the fourth step in mind during the conversation. You don’t have to be rude and leave while she’s in the middle of a sentence, but giving her a reason to want to talk to you again is incredibly important. If she sees that you aren’t desperate and that you have other things going on, your romantic intentions won’t seem as forced, and you’ll look more in charge to her.