Shy Girl's Guide To Flirting

How to tell him he drives you crazy without saying a word.

- Chirag Mohanty Samal

Every time you meet him, you have butterflies in your stomach, your heart thuds, and your palms get sweaty. Sadly, none of this translates into anything sexy,visually speaking. Things get harder if you are the shy, reserved type who has trouble expressing your feelings. Wouldn’t it be great if you could signal your interest with subtle cues that don’t require some big surge of confidence?

It’s pretty cool how much human beings communicate without using language. This is especially true when it comes to romance. According to research conducted by Jeffrey Hall, associate professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, “One of the important things to keep in mind is that flirting is an outgrowth of your feeling towards another person— something you can’t easily hinder. When you’re expressing yourself with someone you might like, nonverbal and verbal behaviours begin to reflect attraction.” With just a coy smile here, glance or touch, you can let a person know how you feel about him—if you’re looking for just a fun fling or something more serious.

There’s the catch, however. At times, the intended partner may fail to detect the signals. Hall, who is also the author of The Five Flirting Styles: Use The Science Of Flirting To Attract The Love You Really Want, says, “We’re really bad at detecting if people are flirting with us. The reason we’re bad at seeing when they are interested is people show it in such a variety of ways.”