Carnal knowledge: five easy ways to get better in bed.

Olivia Petter on fixing wrongs and adding back some spark

- Olivia Petter

Nobody wants to be told they're bad in bed. It's surely one of the most crippling comments a person can receive: you know that thing that dominates the discourse, dictates and disrupts power dynamics, and is basically tantamount to our survival as social human beings? Yeah, you're just not very good at it and should probably stop trying. Sorry.

Of course, as anyone who’s paused to consider what sex actually means will know, there is no such thing as someone being bad in bed. There’s only bad sexual chemistry between two people who, in all likelihood, either aren’t sexually compatible, or good enough at communicating with each other. But the good news is that these are things you can (and should) work on before giving up altogether.

It’s important to bear this in mind when thinking about what constitutes good sex. Because despite what classic romcoms and Nineties teen films would have us believe, no one person can be a sex god. It just doesn’t work that way, folks. Because sex is an exchange between two bodies, learning how they work together. If you think otherwise, it’s advisable to keep reading.

Without further ado, here are the most common things most people are doing wrong in the bedroom and how you can correct them.

Being elsewhere

It’s a simple fault but one that is increasingly common in today’s hyper-digital world, where smartphones and social media serve as constant distractions to what’s going on right in front of us. That includes sex.