Lunch at the Labs

Ice Breakers

It is sometimes said (and probably true) that it is easier to get a job if you already have one. Somehow you are more desirable to an employer if they think they are taking you away from someone. I think the same phenomenon holds if you are trying to find a romantic partner. As a man, I notice that woman are much more likely to talk to me when I am with another woman then if I am alone.

Years ago I would sometimes go to events for singles with a platonic woman friend. If there was a woman I wanted to meet, my friend would go over to that woman by herself and start an innocuous conversation. After a while, I'd walk by and say hello to my friend and she would introduce me to the other woman. Similarly I would do the same for her by first talking to a man she wanted to meet. It worked very well. Refinements to the basic technique included getting information about the third person (for example, what kind of person they were looking for) and only making the introduction if it was a good match.

Recently I discovered there is now a commercial enterprise called NY Icebreakers doing this very thing (but just for men to meet woman). For $50.00 per hour you can hire an attractive woman to go with you to some social event and introduce you as a friend (or any way you choose) to the woman you want to meet. I haven't tried it (yet!) but given my past experience, I think it would work and it might be better than a dating service.