Hot Dating Tip #7: Be observant.

Women notice different things about people than men do. They notice how people dress, how they move, how they speak, how they hold themselves and they notice subtleties of body language that go clean over the heads of most men. If you take the time to learn about this stuff, you can get up to speed with what women know instinctively. Only then will you be playing on a level field.

A friend of mine has a fantastic technique that often enables him to be holding a woman's hand within 20 seconds of meeting her! It's really impressive to watch. He has taken the time to learn a lot about jewellery, especially precious stones.

He just walks up to his 'target' and says, "Hey, that's a really interesting ring/bracelet/necklace (delete as appropriate) you're wearing. Can I take a closer look?"

If it's a ring, he takes their hand and examines the stone, saying something like, "Wow, where did you get this?". He goes on looking and holding while she talks, using a firm but gentle grip and making sure to let go before she gets uncomfortable. Often, he says nothing more than, "Thanks for letting me see that.", before smiling enigmatically, walking away and standing or sitting somewhere within view, talking to someone else or pretending to read a book.

He says that most times, the woman will stare a while at the ring (or whatever he chose to look at) and then come over and start talking to him!

Women don't wear jewellery by accident. They choose it carefully and they wear it because they like it. If you like it too, and genuinely find it interesting, attractive or unusual - and can talk halfway intelligently about it - they will take it as a real compliment.

By complimenting a woman on her choice of accessories, you are indirectly complimenting her - and women are far more susceptible to indirect compliments than to direct ones, which are usually far too obvious. A woman will never take offence at a genuine compliment about the way she dresses, but may be irritated or annoyed about an equally heartfelt remark about any part of her body.