That First Phone Call to a Girl
There is nothing worse that making that first call and having absolutely nothing to talk about.
So what I always do the first time around is prepare about a half-hour worth of material. In my mind, I am a really polished talk-show host, someone who has fun with his "guests" and gets them to talk about what they like the most -- themselves.
But there is a way to do this right and wrong.
A bad way is to just keep asking questions while contributing nothing -- you sound like a nosey detective or something.
So tell her something like "I just saw the movie _________ the other day" Then tell her about it and what you thought of it and then segue into what she's seen lately. Then talk about all-time favorites and stuff like that. You can do this with music, tv, whatever.
I think the approach that many guys miss when they get the digits is to just ask for a date -- bad move. Build up that friendship and make her think "wow - this guy has a lot in common with me." So after about a half-hour, excuse yourself but set something up if things went well.
If you can't carry a conversation with a stranger who digs you for a half-hour, the date would probably be miserable.