IOI'S

Indicators of interest, or IOIs, are behaviors from women which communicate – consciously or not – that the woman is attracted to the man that she’s talking to. It’s very important to a pickup artist to learn how to read these signs, because a key principle of pickup is that you must get your target attracted to you first, before you move into qualification and comfort, and IOIs are how you know when to switch gears.

Before listing some common IOIs, a few guidelines. First, be aware that IOIs that are not a response to your displays of higher value are often false. Women – consciously or not – use false IOIs to get men to pay attention to them. “Hired guns” – waitresses, bartenders, strippers, etc – often give false IOIs to get bigger tips. IOIs that you can trust occur spontaneously after your display of higher value.

When Mystery began teaching game, he suggested that you should count three IOIs before moving into qualification. That’s a little robotic, and while it’s a good starting point, real mastery is achieved when you can sense a girl’s attraction without necessarily being able to put your finger on exactly what she’s doing.

To that end, you should train yourself to recognize attraction. Next time you’re out and about, look around at the various couples. Ask yourself the following questions: “Is she into him?” and “How can I tell?” Be very literal – notice as many specific behaviors as you can. Over time, it’ll become intuitive.

But while you develop your intuition, let the following list be a guideline. All of the list below are well known IOIs:

PUA IOIs

Her body is oriented to you, despite other people being around. If her feet are pointed right at you, despite other reasonable options, that’s a very good sign.

She touches you while talking (even as little as a hand on your arm). This is a very big giveaway.

She grooms herself casually – smoothing her hair, adjusting her blouse, re-applying lipstick, etc. Playing with jewelry counts, as well.

She holds eye contact with a soft smile.

She breaks brief eye contact by looking down. (This is a very powerful one, but only if you don’t look away yourself. It might be the biggest pre-approach IOI.)

She leans into you or brushes against you. A girl knows when she “accidentally” brushes her breasts against you when walking past you. She doesn’t do it with everyone.

Her body language to you is open (shoulder’s back, arms uncrossed).

She perks up – improves her posture, maybe thrusts her chest forward – when you pay attention to her.

She leans towards you, or enters your personal space.

She exposes (perhaps “accidentally”) additional skin while you’re looking – letting her dress fall of her shoulder, or showing you flashes of “soft” skin like her neck, underarms, or the inside of her wrist.

She caresses herself, sliding a hand along her own neck or collarbone. (This is a very powerful one. It tells you something about where her mind is – she wants you to be caressing her).

She mirrors you. This is a very powerful IOI, which we’ll discuss more when we talk about comfort. But when you find a woman subconsciously mirroring your posture (holding her arms in the same way, making similar gestures, or drinking when you drink) it’s a strong sign she’s feeling powerful emotions towards you.

She plays with a straw or toothpick in her mouth while looking at you or talking to you.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good starting place. With practice, picking up on IOIs will get intuitive quickly. And remember, once you’re getting consistent IOIs, qualify the girl and move into mid-game.