Nice way to initiate with a man if there's no real time or option for the smile & eye-contact... ask for his help.
For instance asking help to find out which cake/bread/pie is best in the bakery.
Asking him if he can hold your jacket or drink for a sec while you quickly do XYZ (can be as simple as throwing the shoulder strap of your handbag over you shoulder diagonally, or get your wallet out of your purse or put it away).
Simple things like that that aren't ridiculously obvious but can be done/asked casually, and at the same time can help start a conversation.
That's a great idea Crystal. I do stuff like this already.... just not as a conscious means to initiate. For some reason when I get in that "I'd like to meet you" mood, feeling all giddy like, I totally freeze and do nothing!
Reminds me of one of those movies I saw where the girl gets all tongue tied and only manages to say hi and then later bangs her head up against the wall, hahahaha
Oh yes, I can so relate to feeling that way, hahaha.
There are ways to 'train' yourself so it all comes easier. Think of things you can talk about upfront, including 'openers', so you're never stuck for something to say. Even handy to write that down to get it into your system.
May sound mechanical, but for it to come more natural and to internalize it you have to first kind of 'drill' yourself.
Then start practicing having simple chit chats with people everywhere.
I remember one coach had made one woman who had extreme difficulty with this go into town to ask 20 people the time.
By the time she'd done that, she was okay with that. Then he made her go back and ask the time AND compliment the person on their watch/phone, hence starting a little conversation.
By the time she was done she was far more relaxed about approaching someone and I believe she managed to go up to a guy in the bar that weekend as well.
I'm almost feeling excited now to get going with this stuff again, hihi. Almost...