[This post is dedicated to JC because he's the one who kicked my ass for not writing more often] 

During the last David Wygant free seminar I organized, one of the guys asked David:  “What is your take on canned material?”  

For some reason, this topic comes up EVERY TIME I attend a seminar. 

Should you or should you not use canned material?  What is canned material anyway?  I really wish I would receive sexy girl pictures for every time I hear that question.  I’d sport the naughtiest grin every day!

In the Seduction Community, canned material is loosely defined as bits and pieces of “stock” openers, topics or verbal games that can be used at any given time to get someone engaged in a conversation.  Personally, I have nothing against canned material but the effectiveness of canned material really depends on how and when you use it.

To all who loves canned material, I want to ask:  why are you using it?

USING CANNED MATERIAL AS OPENERS

• If you are using canned material to create powerful situations for the woman to respond to, those are awesome!  
   
  These types of openers are just fun to do.  Overall, they HAVE to be delivered in a situationally relevant way but using canned material to setup situations is just fun.  The key point here is that you are having fun with it.  You aren’t trying to get a specific reaction, you are doing it to entertain yourself… and when you are doing it like that, your natural, attractive, powerful self comes out.  You become instantly more memorable and intriguing.  If you want some fun ideas, David Wygant talked about the tic-tac-toe opener that his client used in the supermarket in his Pickup Podcast interview.   He also provides other ideas in his bonus follow-up interview.
   
  Even using cheesy pickup lines could work.  Pickup lines are a primitive form of canned material but delivered properly, they are just hilarious!  One night, I had a friend who dared all his boys to use pickup lines to talk to girls.  They were bored so they just did it for fun.  As he walked up to this one Asian girl, he couldn’t stop chuckling.  The girl knew something was up since he couldn’t keep a straight face but he finally said:

  -  Hey, do you know kung fu?
  -  Why?
  -  Well, ’cause your ass just kicks ass! [as he said that, he motioned a swift kick in the air]
  -  [girl couldn't stop laughing]

  Keep in mind:  no matter what kind of canned material you use for opener, you should transition quickly to normal conversation.
   

• If you are using canned material because you don’t know what to say, don’t use it.  Learn to think on your feet instead.
   
  I know a lot of pickup companies advocate the use of canned material as training wheels but I strongly disagree.  The only time I would advocate the use of canned material to get over approach anxiety is if the guy NEEDS to realize that it is not a big deal to talk to a stranger.  Once he realizes that talking to strangers is normal, then I would give him observational skills exercises to train his mind to think on the spot.
   
  The problem with always relying on canned material to start conversations is that it subconsciously trains the brain to believe that you need to say something interesting or witty to make you successful in approaching.  I’ve said it many many times.  What you say matters little.  It’s how you say it… or what you convey through it that is important.  By relying on canned material, you subconsciously tell your brain NOT to trust its instincts.  Instead of learning to become outcome independent while approaching women (because they are supposed to work), you get stuck in EXPECTING a good reaction from your openers.  Learn to trust yourself from the beginning.
   
  The other problems I see is that you don’t learn to develop your observational, listening and improv skills.  These very skills teach you to be well calibrated (or socially relevant) in social settings.  Without these skills, you will always come across as the weird or creepy guy. 
   
  Furthermore, being in the moment uses the intuitive side of your brain.  Using a routine uses memory which is a completely different side of your brain.  Why would you use something that might be detrimental to your future development in social skills later down the road? Once you learn to trust your ability to talk to any strangers without fear of negative feedback, you can build upon that foundation to powefully project your personality.

USING CANNED MATERIAL DURING CONVERSATIONS

• If you are using it as a crutch because you don’t know how to be interesting, don’t use it. 
   
  There are two ways you can show that you are interesting:  1)  you can be passionate about a certain topic  2)  you can show attractive traits about your personality from the stories you tell.  In either case, you want to realize that being interesting has very little to do with what you say.  It has more to do with the kind of emotions (energy) you can elicit in the other person based on their inner desire to get to know you.  Being interesting is about you being able to arouse curiosity and intrigue in them so that they want to connect with you as a person.
   
  This is why I personally dislike the negative connotations associated with Demonstrations of Higher Value (DHV).  If you DHV to prove that you are interesting then you really aren’t interesting; you are bragging.  You should never have to prove yourself to anyone, especially if you are a confident person who knows he/she has a lot going on for himself/herself.  
   
  However, if you demonstrate (some, not higher) value from a position of power where you already know your self-worth, then showing value is not a big deal because you are just letting them know passively that you have attractive traits and therefore, you are desirable. 
   
  By contrast, when you DHV with the intent to display HIGHER value, you are subconsciously acknowledging that you are lower value than the person you are talking to.  Who would want to speak to a person who doesn’t find himself/herself already attractive?
   
• If you are using canned material to script all your interactions in order to get predetermined reactions from people and to get them to a specific outcome (usually sex), I understand why using canned material could help but you really don’t have to use it.
   
  The important thing to know here is that you should have clear intent in your interactions with people.  You want to give people direction and guidance in understanding what YOU want.  It’s about being honest with your inner desires.  
   
  If you are interested in a person romantically, you should let them know (whether it’s through intimate body language, sexual flirting/tension or whatever) and you should be able to make that attraction feel legitimized. 
   
  Most canned material or routines do just that.  They are carefully crafted social construct that are meant to push the interaction into a sexual vibe while making the other person feel comfortable with what is happening.  You create arousal and comfort at the same time.
   
• If you have canned material that you use occasionally to re-ignite a dying conversation, I’m all for it. 
   
  I know that some routines, themes or questions are GREAT conversational starters.  However, I would advice against having an entire script ready.  Once again, you should know what you are trying to convey or elicit through the use of canned material. 
   
  For example, I have a few recurring themes or questions that I use from time to time when I want to LEAD the interaction into a place that is more fun for me.  They are not used as a crutch for me not having anything to say.  They are used to direct the interaction in various emotionally-charged topics when the other person is not very talkative.  Most of the time, the question itself doesn’t matter but it’s what the question allows me to do with my follow-up answer that makes it powerful. 
   
  If I want to know a person on a more personal level, I may ask: 
  - What did you want to be when you were 7?
  - If you were to go back in time to relive part of your life and keep all the knowledge you have now, which year would you travel back to?
  - If you could be an animal/fruit, what would it be?
  - If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
  - What do you do… and you can lie if you want.
  - Describe yourself in 3 words.
  - Tell me a secret that you wouldn’t want your parents to know about you (this can be used to lead towards the sexual vibe as well)
   
  If I want to lead the woman’s mind towards the sexual, I may ask:
  - What are your three favorite male body parts?
  - Which stuffed animal did you have a relationship with?
  - If we were locked together in a house for a day, what would we do?
  - If you were to take me on an impromptu vacation tomorrow, where would you take me?
  - What does it mean to you when you say “I am attracted to this man”?
  - Describe your best kiss.
  - Have you ever experienced/kissed a [insert your ethnicity] guy?
  - Which would you prefer:  have 1 year of amazing, toe curling, life changing sex and 1 year of no sex OR 2 years of so-so sex?
   
  All these questions allow you to create very powerful thoughts, emotions and images.  If you want to truly talk about the essence of pick-up, you want to understand that seduction is about creating sensations in the woman’s mind.  With experience, you will come up with your own themes or questions.  If you keep on using them and you like them, they become part of your “canned material” bag of tricks.

In the end, canned material does have its use.  To me, they are the cherry on the cake.  They shouldn’t be the cake itself.  Your personality should be the main attraction.  Any canned material you use should be extra bonuses.  The good thing about them is that they do help give your interactions a direction.  When the interaction is stalling, you can use canned material to lead the woman into new topics or deeper types of interaction (personal and sexual).  When I use canned material, I only use them as transitions.

Sometimes, they can help you bring some much needed fun into the conversation.  If you are getting bored, you can use one of them to raise the energy/excitement level.  Who doesn’t want to have fun?

However, if you rely on them constantly, you will create more problems than solutions for yourself down the road if you haven’t laid some solid social skills foundations (being in the moment, believing in yourself, having good observational skills… etc).  Before you use too much canned material, know why you are using them for.  If you understand emotions, you should not have to ever use canned material.

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