3 Subtle Ways To Flirt With A Man (So That He'll Never Forget You)

If you aren't doing these three things you may not *truly* understand how to flirt with a man.

By Dina Colada — Written on Apr 02, 2018

Photo: getty

3 Ways To Flirt With A Man (So That He'll Never Forget You)

So, you want to know if a guy likes you. Does he or doesn’t he? I want you to take the focus off of the question and put your focus on the solution: exactly how to flirt with a guy.

Why? Because so many guys don't "get" it. You could hit a guy over the head with a brick doused with hot pink glitter puffy paint that says "I like you!" covered in heart stickers, and he will think you were aiming at the guy behind him and just "throw like a girl." We know that you have a heck of an arm — there is just no man on it... yet.

Recently, I was out with a great guy friend of mine at one of my favorite local restaurants, and a woman at the bar was obnoxiously hitting on him. She was touching him, smiling like crazy, getting close, flipping her hair, batting her eyes — doing everything she could do to get a hint of his attention.

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While we were walking out of the restaurant, I mentioned her interest in him... and he had no idea. He hadn’t noticed her peacock displays of affection.

Guys need more than one sign. Multiple times. And in different ways. And sometimes they still won’t make a move.

A reader of mine, Shelly, sent me a question about this exact problem:

"There is a man I’m really attracted to. He is so sweet-looking and handsome. I began showing him interest by making eye contact, but he didn’t always look back. My friend told me that she saw him watching me when I wasn’t looking.
After a couple of weeks, he finally smiled at me. This week we smile at each other every time we pass each other in the hall.
I feel like I’m giving him the signals that I like him, by smiling and making eye contact when we see each other, but he’s not making a move. I’m pretty shy and have never made the first move before. I think guys should make the first move, especially if a girl seems interested. I think he likes me but isn’t putting in any effort. I’m so confused! Should I just give up?"

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There are many reasons why he might not be hitting on you (and we will never know for sure unless we ask him).

His girlfriend from Holland is coming in next month.
He might be getting over his psycho ex that called him every night at 3 AM.
He could be as shy or even more shy than you.
Even sexy men are afraid of rejection.
He’s in debt and can’t afford to ask you out on a date.
He’s not emotionally available.

We will never know what he is feeling or thinking — we can only guess. Embrace the unknown and know that there is something you can do: Smile more because one smile a day or week isn’t enough.

Keep doing what you're doing, and do more of it. The best methods for how to flirt with a guy?:

Smile. Not a big toothy grin! Give him a sexy-flirty-coy smile! And hold his gaze, even if your face gets red. Look away.
Smile again and hold his gaze for a couple seconds. It will seem like an eternity. Then look away. You don’t want to ogle him and seem creepy.
Smile AGAIN, and hold his gaze for a few more seconds.

That will let him know that you are approachable and available. If you only smile once in a sitting, he might think you're being friendly, and you smile at all the guys you pass in the hall. If he's still too shy, you can approach him and say, "Hi" and he will probably say, "Hi" back. It's not 1950 anymore, and it's OK if a woman approaches a guy first.

If you do choose to say that voice-trembling 2-letter word that you’ve been saying since you were 13 months old, it doesn’t mean you have to lead the conversation after that. But he is probably just as nervous as you, so in the first 10 seconds, you can give him a break and force yourself to say "Hi" first.