The Pick Up Artist

Like a comedian, a pickup artist is also a performing artist. A pickup artist's task is to captivate a small group of people long enough to convey specific personality characteristics which ultimately make him interesting to the one woman in the group that he has his eye on.

The material he runs is like a vehicle that he uses to convey his personality to the group — and obliquely, to her. When a comedian tells a joke, people say, "That's a good joke." But when he strings several good jokes together, people say "he's hilarious." It is no longer the matenal that takes the acclaim, but the comedian himself. (via The Pick Up Artist)