FALSE TIME CONSTRAINTS

A false time constraint is one of those little things you can do which can have a surprisingly large impact on your success rate. All a false time constraint (or “FTC” for short) is a comment like, “I have to get back to my friends in a minute, but …” delivered at a key moment.

FTCs work because when you approach or lock in with a group, their defenses are – naturally – up. They’re wary that you’ll be uninteresting or unpleasant, and an FTC disarms them. It allows them to relax because, even if it turns out they don’t like you, they know you’ll be gone soon.

There are two key times to deliver a FTC. The first is when you open. Rather than just launching into your opener, e.g., “Hey, Give me a female opinion on something …” you add a FTC. “Hey. I’ve got to get back to my friends in a minute, but before I do, give me a female opinion on something …”

The other time to use a FTC is when you are joining the set in such a way that you’re entering their space. For example, you open a set who is seated at a table. You’re standing as you open.  They respond, and, as you sit down, you deliver a FTC as you give the next part of your opener.  Here you are disarming, in advance, their fear that you’ll impose yourself in an unwanted way on the group by staying.

Generally you’ll only deliver one FTC per set. If the set is seated, and you know you’ll want to deliver a FTC when you sit down, you might, instead, root your opener. Rooting your opener just means giving the set a reason why you’re opening them. For example, you might say, “My friend just told me this crazy story, let me know what you think …”

If these concepts seem trivial, experiment with them. Most PUAs discover that they get less resistance from their targets early, and open successfully more often, when they use these tools. The impact they have is small, but very real.