How to ask out a stranger without seeming like a creep

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The approach of Valentine's Day can make people do crazy things.

Like, splurge on ridiculously expensive champagne and jewelry for their partner. Or join a flock of tourists at the top of the Empire State Building.

Or ask a total stranger on a date.

If you're in that last category (go you!), there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it.

Jordan Harbinger, host of "The Art of Charm" podcast, shared tips on networking and relationship building, romantic and otherwise. Harbinger appeared on another podcast — "The James Altucher Show" — and gave some pointers on the dilemma mentioned above.

Back when he was single, Harbinger said he spotted a woman on the train who was texting furiously.

"Are you gonna write the whole book on your phone?" he asked her.

It turned out the woman was really open to conversation, and told him how she wanted to text her friend, but there was no service underground, so she was preparing a message she could send as soon as they surfaced. She and Harbinger ended up getting into a discussion about how annoying it would be if there were cell service on the train, and how they appreciated the respite from technology.

The trick here is that Harbinger didn't open with a traditional pick-up line (Altucher suggested, "I didn't get your text. Can you resend it?") or anything that would directly signal his interest.

That's because he put himself in the woman's shoes and tried to figure out what she'd be thinking or worrying about if a random guy started talking to her — he assumed it was safety. So he tried to disarm her.

"That was a pretty nonthreatening general thing to say," he said of the opening line he ended up using. After they established some rapport, he could theoretically ask for her number. (Harbinger didn't reveal on the podcast whether he did that.)

ShutterstockAnother trick he sometimes uses?

Instead of speaking directly to the person he's interested in, he'll talk to that person and someone else seated near him. "Now it's just a conversation and I happen to be leading it," he told Altucher.

Interestingly, 2012 research led by Gary Lewandowski at Monmouth University found that students who were mentally exhausted from doing a cognitive exercise right before said they'd be more receptive to "innocuous" openers, like, "Hi, how are you? My name is [their name]."

The mentally exhausted participants said they'd be less likely to respond to "cute" openers, like, ‘"Excuse me, what time is it? I just wanted to be able to remember the exact moment that I met you."

And in general, the study found that women said they'd be more receptive to innocuous opening lines, while men said they'd be more receptive to "direct" openers, like, "I don't normally come up to people like this, but I couldn't resist."

So know that, depending on the person's gender and how frazzled or distracted they are, they might not be totally receptive to your attempt at breaking the ice. Don't push your luck.

Harbinger did tell Altucher to keep in mind that not everyone will be open to conversation. The strategy he's advocating is just a way to boost your chances of getting the object of your affection to talk to you. He told Altucher that getting good at this kind of relationship building ultimately comes down to persistence and patience.

Citing the work of the psychologist Anders Ericsson, he said it's all about "deliberate practice," which involves having a goal and figuring out exactly what went wrong if you don't reach it. What can you say next time that won't put the person on their guard or turn them off?

The takeaway here seems to be that it helps to imagine how you would feel if you were that person and someone approached you while you were going about your business. If you'd feel even a little bit skeeved out by the line you're about to use, it's probably best to find another one.

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