It’s easy to get discouraged in the dating game, and many guys often get down on themselves after repeated rejections or dry spells with women. Of course there are many strategies and tactics our there to help you improve your game, but many guys often ask themselves a basic question – Why don’t women like me?

This is the topic covered by the linked article from Dan Bacon. When you doubt yourself, you create other problems in life, whether in your career or your relationships. But in order to get over this feeling, you have to be willing to do some self-examination. Ask yourself tough questions about how you interact with women and whether your behavior will stimulate attraction. Are you confident? Are you sociable? If not you need to work on these things, and learning methods from a pick-up artist can work wonders for you.

Check out Dan’s entire article for a great explanation of the challenges along with excellent advice.

How’s your “rap” with women? Is it easy talking to women, or do you often find it challenging to keep their interest in a conversation?

This is a pretty common problem, as many men fall into the same pattern of “interviewing” a woman with boring questions that she’s heard a million times. Making small talk or asking her “what do you do?” will get you nowhere. You want to get her attention and be interesting.

Dan Bacon addresses the common mistakes men make in his article about how to talk to women along with some helpful suggestions on how to keep the conversation going.

One of the techniques that I now use to keep conversations going and keep them interesting is technique that I call Talk From Your Own Perspective. This is where you offer some conversation from your personal perspective and then ask the woman a question on the same topic to bring her into the conversation. This works SO MUCH better than just asking a woman questions and not offering any personal opinions to the conversation yourself.

For example: Instead of asking her, “Do you like the beach?” you would first talk from your perspective by saying, “I love the beach…I’ve managed to get there twice this summer with some friends…ate too much ice-cream the last time I went! How about you, did you get to the beach much this summer?”

Also, learn how to tell good stories! Have something to say about things that happened to you and that will naturally lead to great conversations, and as Dan points out it’s much easier to get her talking when you’ve brought up your own personal experiences.

Check out the entire article and right away you’ll probably recognize the mistakes you’ve been making and you’ll start learning helpful tips on how to improve your rap with women.

Be honest with yourself. Does this apply to you? It applies to most men, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Frankly, just acknowledging this can be a great first step towards improving your dating skills with women, whether you’re a bumbling novice or someone who is generally successful with women but wants to get better.

Forbes recently brought up a similar question in the contest of Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton. This went more into the relationship dynamics, as Thornton feels like he screwed up the marriage and said, “I blew it because I didn’t think I was good enough for her.” She’s particularly intimidating for a host of reasons, but it raises the narrower issue of how to attract and date beautiful women.

Most pick-up artists have great advice in this area, and the basic idea is that you can’t act like all the other guys who fawn over them or try to win them over with money or status (if that’s even an option). The key is to stand out by acting differently, and it all goes back to your own attitude and confidence.

You can start thinking about this issue with two articles from David DeAngelo. The first explains his basic “cocky and funny” strategy, and the next one specifically addresses the secrets of dating beautiful women. The idea is similar to the idea of negs from Mystery and Style. Playfully teasing a beautiful women and not fawning over her will completely change the dynamic.

One of the keys to improving your dating skills by reading the pick-up artists is simply to avoid the common mistakes you and other guys have been making for years. The light bulb will go up immediately, as you see that your natural impulses are often wrong when trying to attract women, unless you’re a natural of course . . .

Check out our dating tips page for more tips from the best pickup artists.

Grooming habits have been evolving for both men and women, and it’s definitely something we all keep in mind now when it comes to dating and relationships. Any guy whose been dating since the 80s or 90s knows that many women today will eliminate every hair from their bodies. While they don’t expect quite he same for guys, the idea of manscaping is something every guy at least needs to think about. You should at least start by considering that back hair if that’s an issue for you . . .

On a less private matter, facial hair is making a comeback in some circles, as it’s been mostly out of fashion for years. In this area opinions vary wildly as you might expect.

All of this is covered in a new film called “Mansome” from Morgan Spurlock, with appearances by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Adam Carolla, Judd Apatow, Zach Galifianakis along with others. From metrosexuals to more extreme cases, Spurlock takes a humorous look at the subject.

If you’re looking to improve your game with women, you should definitely consider your appearance and grooming habits. You don’t have to do anything radical, but paying attention to it can help you with your confidence and improve your chances. Find a look that works for you, and subtle changes can go a long way.

For more ideas in this area, check out our men’s grooming channel and our dating tips page.

Halloween is our favorite holiday, as it gives women an excuse to dress up like tramps. Mix in some cocktails at a fun party, and they start to act the part. Dressing sexy helps women feel sexy, so it’s up to you to encourage her.

It’s a great night if you’re looking to meet someone new or score a hookup, so make sure you come up with your own cool costume! If you have any trouble at all approaching women, this is the night when you want to forget all your hangups and just go for it. You don’t need to worry about pick-up lines or thinking about something to talk about. Just say something about her costume, or create your own costume that gives you an easy line (like a doctor!).

We’re counting down the days to the big night, so we’re getting started with a slideshow of some great sexy nurse costumes. Practically any theme can be sexy if a woman has an imagination, but the hot nurse requires very little work. Most costume stores will have this in stock, and women can add their own accessories like gloves and thigh high stockings. Our own Holly Weber had a sexy nurse costume on in her Featured Model shoot.