Warning, essay alert!
To summarise: don't be a nice guy...be a great guy
For example, does the guy walking around the bar acting douchey and pushing people out of his way get perceived as an alpha male? Or does the guy that stops and talks to everyone, (selectively) buys a few people some drinks and just contributes to a positive vibe in general command the respect and attention he deserves?
I'll let you dwell on that.
Just don't be 'nice' in a kind of needy way, e.g. "I'll buy you flowers...can we go on a date if I pay for it?" Be 'nice' in a way that CONTRIBUTES VALUE. This is how true alphas are perceived.
You don't want to be that shy nerdy guy...you want to be the next JFK, the next Martin Luther King, etc., etc. Read Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People", and not just the start. Read it start to finish, and see how positive people in business and politics win the admiration and influence of the people around them by remembering the simple fact that their ego is not the only ego that needs gratification!
Remember the SOFTEN acronym for open body language:
Smile
Open body language (don't cross arms!)
Forward (i.e. LEAN forwards to demonstrate interest)
Touch (e.g. a friendly gentle but firm squeeze is the best way to shake a man's hand: no death grip, and no limp fish either! if you have to squeeze past someone in a crowded space, touch them on the arm gently. walk around in a warm/friendly but definitive manner)
Eyes (make direct eye contact often, or if not eye contact look somewhere on the face - the nose, the mouth, the forehead, etc.)
Nod (ok, this isn't my favourite one because you don't want to look like a nodding dog constantly and blindly in agreement. but it's good to nod time to time)
Dale Carnegie principles
BECOME A FRIENDLIER PERSON
1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person's name is to that person the most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
9. Make the other person feel important - and do so sincerely.
10 The only way to get the best of an argument is to
avoid it.
WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING
11. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
12. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
13. Begin in a friendly way.
14. Get the other person saying, "Yes, yes" immediately.
15. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
16. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
18. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
19. Appeal to the nobler motives.
20. Dramatize your ideas.
BE A LEADER
21. Throw down a challenge.
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
23. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
24. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
25. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
26. Let the other person save face.
27. Praise the slightest and every improvement. Be "lavish in your praise."
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Ok, so that's a lot to take on board. But take these principles with you and practice them in your daily life, not just with girls but people in general. Get creative, see how many different ways you can apply them and which situations are 'the exception to the rule'. Help old people cross the road, remember the name of that guy that always sells you the newspaper, spare some change for a homeless man once in a while, talk to the cleaner - nobody ever does!, do some voluntary work for your community. Just make sure nobody takes advantage! After that, come back and tell me that it doesn't work work and that you haven't been successful in getting people's respect.
If you are genuinely still finding that that's the case, after say...one month of daily practice, then it's probably time to practice assertiveness. Just go to a shop, order something you don't want, take the receipt then go back the next day and ask for your money back. Get a coffee in starbucks and tell them you didn't want milk. That kinda thing. Just don't get lost in your emotions: tell them calmly in a matter of fact way that XYZ is what you initially requested. Don't get angry or accusatory. But equally, don't pussy out. There's more to assertiveness than what I just said but this is a good starting point.
Oh yeah, and meditation/breathing exercises helps with keeping your cool. So does good posture (yoga and free weights helps with this. plus lifting free weights makes you more manly in general: check out Starting Strength by Rippetoe and Strong Lifts 5 x 5). Live a proactive lifestyle - interesting, attractive life = interesting, attractive person. Simple as.
You apply these principles, I'm telling you, you are on the road to becoming a true alpha.