BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Headphone pick-up advice is not sweet music to women's ears

  • Published
    30 August 2016
Share page
About sharing
Screengrab of man talking to woman who has taken off her headphoneImage source, The Modern Man
BBC Trending
What's popular and why

What is the point of having well-rehearsed pick-up lines if their intended target can't even hear them?

It's no good trying to chat up women in the street, on the train, or wherever, if their ears are otherwise occupied listening to music on their smartphone.

Self-styled "dating and relationship expert" Dan Bacon offered his solutions to this problem in a blog entitled "How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones". The article, on his website "The Modern Man", is packed with tips for would be Romeos/pick-up-artists on how to make a woman to remove her headphones before getting her to succumb to their charm.

But the internet has not responded positively to Bacon's wisdom. His words have been widely mocked. Many women have taken issue with advice which they believe promotes unwelcome invasion of their personal space and is more than a little creepy.

Bacon - who is based in Australia and charges men to learn his "controversial attraction techniques" which are guaranteed to "get results with women" - admits in his introduction: "Of course, not all women are open to being approached because not all women are single and looking."

He adds: "However, if a woman wearing headphones is single and hoping to meet a boyfriend (or even a new lover), she will almost always be happy to take off her headphones to give you an opportunity to create a spark with her."

To clear the way for spark creation Bacon offered a simple five-step plan.

Website advice: What to Do to Get Her Attention including: When she looks at you, smile and point to her headphones and say, "Take off your headphones for a minute" and pretend to be taking headphones off your head, so she fully understands.Image source, The Modern Man

Once the man has established that he is a "a cool guy", there is then further guidance on what he should do next including: remaining confident, not allowing her to ignore him and never "allowing her to take control of the interaction". Bacon even offers a transcript of how the ideal conversation might go.

The article has been shared widely across social media and Bacon's name started trending for all the wrong reasons. Some took it upon themselves to offer their own refinements to Bacon's advice.

Woman tweeting "Don't do that"Image source, Twitter/@amy_geek
Woman telling man to walk into the sea and keep walkingImage source, Twitter/@SarahJonesVent
Tweet advising men to make a podcast to talk to women on their headphones.Image source, Twitter/@ClareCoffey

Others imagined what Bacon might look like in pursuit of his prey.

Vintage image of Victorian man leering over innocent girl on trainImage source, Twitter/@Pandamoanimum

And after Bacon's achievements with women wearing headphones, some wondered about other unlikely situations which he could advise on.

How to talk to Sigourney Weaver when she is fighting off aliensImage source, Twitter/@davidmbarnett
List of other unlikely "How To Talk To A Woman" scenarios including "How To Talk To A Woman covering statues in ham slices"Image source, Twitter/@orbette

However, at the time of writing, it's not clear if Bacon will take up the challenge. He has yet to respond on his social media accounts to the spark that he has created and the headphone advice article appears to have been taken down.

NEXT STORY: The passengers who monitor Melbourne's ticket inspectors

Scene of trams in MelbourneImage source, Jeff Greenberg

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Ukraine's European allies say peace talks must include Kyiv

    • Published
      52 minutes ago
  • Police arrest 474 at Palestine Action ban protest

    • Published
      11 hours ago
  • Foreign criminals to face deportation after sentencing under new plans

    • Published
      10 hours ago

More to explore

  • What it means to be 'culturally' Irish in 2025 is complicated - as Ed Sheeran has shown

    index image
  • Mars rock found in Niger sells for millions in New York - now the country wants answers

    A big lump pf rock glowing solver and red sits on a glass table top.
  • Jubilant scenes but bumpy road ahead in post-Hasina Bangladesh

    A bearded young man in a blue shirt stands waving a can making red smoke in amongst a crowd, wearing a green headband with a red dot in the middle -  a version of the national flag. Blurry people in a crowd can be seen in the background
  • They live next to Peru's largest solar complex - so why are they still in the dark?

    A composite image featuring solar panels and residents of Pampa Clemesí in southern Peru
  • How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust

    Three bottles of Bulleit Bourbon are lined up against a black stone background

The labels are orange and printed with vintage-style writing, while the bottles, filled with golden liquor, are embossed with the words "Bulleit Bourbon: Frontier Whiskey"
  • It shocked the market but has China's DeepSeek changed AI?

    The DeepSeek app from a Chinese AI technology company is displayed on a mobile phone
  • 'Sound of silence' and 'Frantic Europe pushes new Ukraine plan'

    A composite image of the front pages of the Observer and the Sunday on 10 August 2025
  • Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

    Prince Andrew, head and shoulders, April 2025
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Mars rock found in Niger sells for millions in New York - now the country wants answers

  2. 2

    'Sound of silence' and 'Frantic Europe pushes new Ukraine plan'

  3. 3

    Foreign criminals to face deportation after sentencing under new plans

  4. 4

    So bad they're good - why do we love terrible films?

  5. 5

    Police arrest 474 at Palestine Action ban protest

  6. 6

    Ukraine's European allies say peace talks must include Kyiv

  7. 7

    Man's anger over number plate mix-up parking penalty

  8. 8

    What it means to be 'culturally' Irish in 2025 is complicated - as Ed Sheeran has shown

  9. 9

    Drinks that make you chill - do they really do what it says on the tin?

  10. 10

    Trump nominates ex-Fox News host Tammy Bruce as deputy UN ambassador

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Your latest reality TV obsession has landed on iPlayer

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Destination X
  • Jacob Elordi stars in explosive war drama

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • Inside the front-line fight against cybercriminals

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Fighting Cyber Criminals
  • A rare glimpse into the world of rope access

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Our Lives: High Stakes
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.