A woman's guide to flirting

We've all been there before. You see a man whose dashing good looks make your heart beat faster. There's so much excitement wrapped up in the chance meeting of someone new and handsome strangers hold the powerful and seductive allure of possibility. But as so many women will tell you (and you may be one of these women yourself), approaching a stranger, starting up conversation and sending the message that you're, you know … interested, can be a task of Titanic proportions, especially if you have a shy, introverted personality.

Well ladies, it's time to mix things up! If you're ready to meet someone new, here's how. We checked in with Lou Paget, AASECT certified sex educator and bestselling author of The Great Lover Playbook, to find out just how to set the wheels in motion when it comes to landing your man.

Getting comfortable with the opposite sex
First things first: Paget suggests you hang around male friends and get to know male behaviour. "Then when you approach men, it will be more as a friend and not as an unknown foreign creature," she says.

The scenario
OK, so you've identified the guy who's piqued your interest. You'd love to chat but don't know where to start. Now what?

"First, you have to do your observation homework," says Paget. She says to check out who he's with; you don't want to make your move on a man who's already with someone. If there's a woman friend with him, Paget says, this makes your approach easy. There's no approach! "There's no need to invoke bad date karma by trespassing on someone's man," she cautions.

Next, she suggests watching him from a distance and observing who his eyes follow. Women or men? Observe whether he's engrossed in something (think: sitting in a café working on his laptop) and decide whether he's open to chatting or whether he doesn't want to be interrupted. You may want to hold your fire if he keeps watching the door, indicating that he's waiting for someone.


Page 1 of 2 – Find Paget's best flirty body language moves on page 2.