How to know when touching can be flirting
The flirting signals can be very subtle and confusing at times. How do you know if touching is flirting or just a casual or accidental brush with someone? Cues like a light touch, leaning in, or an attractive smile can be hard to understand at times.
Some people touch just because they are naturally friendly, outgoing, and touchy people. That makes decoding these smoke signals more complicated than ever. And when it comes to touching, flirting, and just having a good friendship between friends, the line can seem quite blurry. So here are some guidelines to help you determine if that special touch that makes you tingle is flirting or just a friendly pat on the back.
There are many people in the world who are prone to being extroverted and touching is part of their normal interactions with others. It’s often hard to tell if touching is flirting unless you know the person well. A few guidelines can help you understand if that brush with someone is really a flirtation or just a pointless moment in time.
How often and what else
If you are often in close contact with another person and your bodies are “accidentally” brushing against each other all the time, this is most likely not an actual accident. You can assume that any regular touching is probably flirting unless it’s something the person does with everyone else.
The other sign that brushing against your arm wasn’t a random mistake is to watch the rest of his behavior. Does he laugh at your jokes? Does he act more talkative or quieter than usual around you? If your interest is a girl, watch her body language for things like leaning in to talk to her, looking her whole body at you, and the classic nod and look away. Guys use the playful touch a lot in their flirting: pulling your hair, poking, and hitting. That’s right, think back to elementary school. The same types of flirting keep happening!
What else was going on? Do they show other signs of interest in you? Are they more talkative or lively in your presence than usual? Do they laugh at your jokes, even the bad ones? Men often use a lot of playful touches, like hitting you or stroking your hair. Girls will often lean towards you and tilt their heads or make coy looks. Not much has changed since we were kids, it’s the same old game, just a little more subtle most of the time.
Looking for opportunities to play?
When someone is genuinely interested in another person, they will often look for any excuse to talk to you and make physical contact in some way. If you touch someone and they respond in a similar way, they are almost certainly flirting. If he seems uncomfortable or withdraws from your touch, then things aren’t looking so good.
pay attention to the signs
Get in the habit of starting to observe the behavior of people you don’t care about. You will begin to observe flirting behavior, whether through physical contact, body language, nerves, or actions. And once you can determine flirting behavior by watching other people interact, you’ll be much better able to tell if it’s real when it happens to you.
In addition to playing, see if they follow your example. If you lean in to talk, does he/she lean towards you or away from her? If you touch their arm, how does she respond? When most people really like someone, they’ll point it out with body language, even if they’re not comfortable touching them yet. Don’t give up easily. Many people are not very good at flirting. The more attention they pay to you, the more likely they are to be interested.
There are many subtle signs of flirting, and the passing casual touch is one of the most encouraging signs that something is really going on between you. Hopefully these tips will help you decide if touching is really flirting and give you the courage to respond in kind if you are interested in the person. Have fun!