Many good men are failing miserably using “pickup lines” on woman these days. That’s because even the wittiest pickup lines will almost always sound canned and inauthentic –two traits that are sure to turn away any intelligent, self respecting woman.

That being said, this post is not about why 99% of “pickup lines” fail; nor is it about how to cope with the embarrassment that comes after your line bombs, badly. This post is about what to do when the pickup line actually works… so now what?

You’re at a bar with a buddy and you see a cute girl sitting with her friend across the room. You take a few minutes to assess the situation, think about a game plan, and conjure up the confidence to go talk to her; but what do you say when it comes to the cold approach?

Do you steal a pickup line from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and say: “Baby write down your number before I don’t want it no more!” Or do you go with something a little less presumptuous like: “My desire for you is like diarrhea, I just can’t hold it in.”

To be sure, both these lines will probably have you escorted out of the bar like a fool in no time. Either way, you know you have to make conversation with this girl…and fast, before someone else does. So you and your wing man go over and approach the two girls; you walk tall and assume a friendly smile. Once eye contact is made you move in and say (with a slightly humorous tone): “Did you have lucky charms for breakfast? Because you look magically delicious!” The girl laughs out loud, looks at her friend and then back at you and exclaims: man I could really go for a bowl of those right now!

You’re speechless… It worked; your pathetic pickup line actually worked and she wants to continue the conversation. Now what do you do? Here’s the answer:

Focus on the three F-bombs. That’s right, keep it Fresh, keep it Fast, and keep it Fun. If you employ these three F-bombs you might be able to build enough rapport to actually have a first date (or even take her home that night).

1) Fresh

Keep it fresh by talking about new and exciting experiences and adventures in your life; let her in on the details of your life and ask her questions about hers (although don’t ask too many questions as you might turn her off by seeming “too” interested).

2) Fast

Don’t hum and haw about the same things or dwell too much on one topic (unless of course you’re both totally enthralled by it, a sign of good things to come.) Once conversation has been steady for a few minutes, change things up, add some variety to the situation: ask if she wants to dance, challenge her to a game of pool in the bar, show her some cool photos on your phone. The key is to keep her guessing and keep her entertained.

3) Fun

And last but not least, keep it fun. Cyndi Lauper knew what she was talking about when she wrote the song “Girls just want to have fun.” I mean, who doesn’t want to have a good time and meet new people, right? Crack some jokes, tease her about little idiosyncrasies you notice (careful with this one, though); you might also want to involve her friend(s) in the conversation if you feel that things are getting too intense with just the two of you. Oh, and be sure to listen, don’t embarrass yourself by making her repeat herself.

If you can remember to employ the three F-bombs, you might just get to share a bowl of lucky charms together in the morning.