Good looks are an edge but if a guy really wants to get to know a girl better, the secret lies in his lips. No, not kissing. What makes a guy more attractive to women is his skill at telling a girl a good story.

Yes, guys that are good storytellers apparently make girls looking for a long-term relationship swoon more than do good lookers, said a published study co-authored by a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University at Buffalo.

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Researchers found a man's skill as a storyteller is a big factor in his attractiveness to women out for  more than a night on the town. They built on three studies to examine gender differences in how storytelling ability affected a man's attractiveness as a long-term and short-term romantic partner.

Their research involved 388 undergraduate students, of which 55 percent were women.  Each of these students was asked to rate a potential romantic partner's level of attractiveness based on a biography he or she wrote.

The results showed that for women, a man's storytelling ability figured greatly in their assessment of whether he'd be a more appealing long-term match.

For men, storytelling ability in women didn't translate into these women being viewed a more attractive match but it did reveal signs of greater intelligence. Intriguingly, the study showed men don't seem to care whether women are good storytellers or not. 

"We were surprised at how consistent and specific the effect was," said Melanie Green, study co-author and associate professor at the University at Buffalo's Department of Communication.

"We had originally thought that there might be a gender difference, since there's a long history of research showing gender differences in what is considered attractive, but we thought it was equally likely that storytelling might be appealing to both genders (similar to traits such as intelligence and kindness). "

Apart from the written stories, researchers also had their subjects read stories written by members of the opposite sex. Regardless of the quality of the writing of the story, the individual's attractiveness depended more on his or her oral delivery.

Tagsmen, attractive, women, telling a good story