34 Little Known Ways to Tell a Guy You Like Him (Straight or Gay!)

The best, most efficient way to tell any guy you like him is to: 

1. Acquire any newspaper or magazine
2. Roll it up tightly
3. Smack him across the face in order to gain his attention
4. Say the 3 magical words: “I like you”

Other methods, such as twerking on top of him are simply unreliable. He may think you were just joking around and weren't twerking ‘seriously’. 

But seriously, here’s what I *won’t* do in this guide: repeat the same useless, unoriginal platitudes which every blog seems to love “be confident, smile and flirt!” 

See below:

Instead, I’ll pack this guide with all the lessons I’ve learnt as a bisexual guy, what I’ve learnt from other books, blogs, youtube videos and reddit.

Enjoy!

1. Is it okay to tell a guy you like him?

Sure, there are gonna be circumstances where telling a guy you love him is inappropriate, but in general, being open about your feelings for him is best for the both of you. 

Is there a chance he might reject you or be some kind of asshole?

Yes, you can never know for sure how he’ll respond. Just because he hasn’t told you that he likes you doesn't mean he doesn’t like you and all you can know is that you tried and didn’t let your fears get the best of you.

If he really is an asshole, you dodged a bullet. Or in the case where he just wants to be friends, you just got yourself a new good friend.

Most of the time, you have nothing to lose. Just go for it!

2. When to tell a guy you like him

Knowing ‘when’ to share your feelings is usually the answer to how to tell a guy you like him without sounding needy or scaring him off. 

• If you tell him too early, you sound desperate and kill the chase.
• If you tell him too late, you lose him!

Gotta get the right timing. 

Sadly, like many other ‘social rules’, there isn’t any iron rule that I can give because there are so many factors involved, such as:

1. Have you been friends and only now you’re catching feelings? (We'll deal with this specific situation later)
2. Is he the shy or bold kind of guy?
3. Has he missed your hints?
4. Is he seeing other girls?
5. Has he given you hints that he likes you too? Or is it all just mixed signals? 
6. Does he act differently when he’s alone with you and when you’re hanging out with him with his group of friends? (I guess this is another example of mixed signals.)

If I had to set any concrete rule, I would say to start slow. As you start to see him more, drop subtle - even non verbal - hints. If misses those, but he still wants to meet you, progressively be less subtle until you just tell him outright. [1]

3. Body language vS indirect vS direct

There are 3 main ways to show interest:

1. Through your body language and vibe
2. By being verbally indirect
3. Being verbally direct 

Each technique works best in different circumstances:

A) Body language and Vibe

If he’s a super dominant guy who knows what he’s doing, dropping subtle, non verbal hints will be just perfect for him: he’ll feel your interest without you seeming needy while still working to win you over (this chase is what makes dating soooo much fun - and yes, it should be fun).

Also, flirting at work should only be done through body language/ indirectly (until you’re sure he’s single and likes you too) to avoid any sort of harassment claims, although I strongly suggest you avoid dating anyone at work - as they say “don’t shit where you eat.”

B) Indirect

If he’s a more popular guy with some experience with girls, subtle hints aren’t gonna cut it, yet being direct may kill the chase. Take the middle path, indirectly tell him that you like him and let him be the bold one (examples coming soon).

Going indirect is also the best way to go from a friendship to a potential romantic relationship: he’ll never catch hints because he’ll think you’re just being extra friendly and going full on direct may ruin the friendship and leave you with nothing. 

Again, going indirect is that safe, middle ground.

C) Direct

If he’s a clueless guy in middle/ high school with little to no experience with other girls, using hints isn’t gonna do the job unless you’re down to wait half a year for him to get it. Being direct and dropping all the games is your best bet. 

In fact, the vast majority of guys, regardless of age, fall into this ‘clueless guy’ category. Take Jimmy Falon as an example when he didn’t catch Nicole Kidman’s hints:

One surprising downside of going direct is, however, that many of these inexperienced guys will take your bold directly as a joke or some kind of prank, so make sure you don’t go over the top. Sometimes a simple “I like you” will do the trick (we’ll talk about this point later).

Another thing to consider is…what kind of girl are YOU? 

If you’re the shy, more feminine kind or girl, using body language hints and being indirect will be your best option.

If you’re the mega confident, masculine kind of girl, being direct is your best bet.

In short, you wanna pick the right technique which complements both of your personalities (and environment) as best as you can.

4. Flirty eye contact 

Flirty eye contact is a great way to show that initial interest. And while it won’t tell him that you like him, it’ll encourage him to approach you. Obviously, if he doesn’t react to your eye contact, you’ll have to resort to more in person ways of communicating interest. 

Although if you’re a gay/bi guy reading this, eye contact can do a lot more as Matteo Lane says:

To learn how to effectively use eye contact and other cool tips I’d recommend you read: 43 Exclusive Methods To Flirt With a Guy In Any Situation [& Countless Examples], but for now, here are some good pointers:

1. Make eye contact with him
2. Smile 
3. Look down or to the side for a bit so it doesn’t get awkward or too forward
4. While you’re looking away, show him that you’re reluctant to look at something else, but too shy to continue looking at him. Adding a ‘cutesy blush’ is one possibility.
5. Play with your hair 
6. Look back at him to make sure he doesn’t think it was accidental 
7. This time maintain the eye contact for longer and seem even happier to be seeing him 
8. Optionally, add a cute wave by placing your hand right next to your shoulder and wiggling your fingers while mouthing ‘hi’. You can also subtly sway your hips to make sure you grab his attention - think of cutsey girls in anime.

Keep in mind that just because he doesn’t respond or directly approach you after some basic eye contact, doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you! Maybe he’s too scared to say anything? Instead, trying using the later techniques in this guide to know for sure or read one of the following articles (admittedly written for straight guys) to get a better idea:

1. Falling in Love: 124 Signs to Tell if a Girl Likes You | Dating Armory
2. 18 Little Known Signs that a Shy Girl Doesn’t Like You | Dating Armory 
3. 25 Subtle Signs That a Girl Doesn’t Like You [With Pictures] | Dating Armory 

5. Preen

Definition of ‘Preen’ according to Dictionary.com

verb (used without object)

to make oneself appear striking or smart in dress or appearance:

No amount of careful preening will compensate for poor posture.

Preening mostly goes together with eye contact. As you’re looking in his direction, subtly try to make yourself look better, e.g. patting down your shirt/ dress, curling your hair, play with your lips, puffing up your chest, etc. 

This shows your interest in a cute way without actually telling him while also awaiting his response. Does he preen in return?

6. Body language and orientation

Lastly, together with eye contact and preening, I’d suggest you take a good look at your body language, specifically, where your body is facing. Simply make sure your whole body is facing him, shoulder, legs and everything! [2, 3]

7. Tell a mutual friend

Going through a friend is the literally the most ‘indirect’ way to tell a guy you like him and there’s 2 ways to go about it:

1. Asking a friend to tell him for you
2. After you’ve told him that you like him, getting a friend to make sure he understands you weren’t joking and want him to reciprocate 

And by the way, if you’re already using a mutual friend, you could always just ask that friend if he likes you already - very useful if you find yourself catching feelings in a good friendship with him and don’t want to scare him with your sudden feelings. 

At the same time, be aware of one of his friends or a mutual friend asking what you feel about him. If you for whatever reason tell that friend that you’re not interested in him, don’t be surprised if he disappears the next day when his friend reports back!

8. Mention your single status

Classic move: either you ask him if he’s single, or that you’re single and that you’re looking for a guy who - surprisingly - matches his exact description.

9. Teasing and flirting

Another great way to casually tell a guy you like him indirectly is by teasing and flirting with him!

But first, I must recommend the following 2 massive guides:

1. The Guide: 74 Methods To Tease A Girl [& Learn Cock-Funny]
2. 43 Exclusive Methods To Flirt With a Guy In Any Situation [& Countless Examples]

Yes, these aren’t written for straight girls after guys, but as a bisexual guy I can tell you that teasing (done right!) is attractive for guys and girls!

So go read those guides when you get a chance, but for now here are some ideas:

1. Tell him that you think it’s hot when he does ____ 
2. Don’t say something like “if you ever want to get a girlfriend, you’ll have to do ____. That’s breaking his balls!
3. Tease him about you two dating
4. If you’re in school, lightly try to push him off his chair 
5. Play with him hair and mess it up, then when he gets mad, fix it up for him how you think ‘is most attractive’
6. The classic pillow fight

I could go on and on, but like I said, read my article on teasing and you’ll get everything there: The Guide: 74 Methods To Tease A Girl [& Learn Cock-Funny]

10. Treat him special

Treating him like a special guy and showing him that you care about him (especially on Valentines day!) is a great way to show him that you like him.

Examples:

1. When he talks, give him your full attention (put away your phone, eye contact)
2. Lean in closer when he talks
3. Dress for him specially when you hang out
4. Make him some food. Or better yet, find out what his favorite dish is and make it for him
5. You respect and admire him interests and hobbies even if they seem nerdy to you
6. Etc.

The idea is to do things special for him that you aren’t doing for others. If you give everyone a big hug and good morning the first time you see them each day, hugging him won’t be special to him. Find something to do for him that’ll make him feel he’s special to you.

Also read: The 2 Elements Men Want In Every Women & 27 Illustrations

11. Tell him that you’d like to get to know him better

Have a little small talk, then while being vulnerable yourself and sharing some of your own personal stories, tell him that you’d like to get to know him better.  

The obvious implication here is that if you didn’t like him, you wouldn’t care to know more about him.

12. Tell him that you want him to stay around you

This technique is done by saying that you want him to stay around you or that you simply want to see him more often.

A more direct example of this is that if you’re with your friends at a bar - including your crush - and he says that he has to leave, grab his hand and say something along the lines of “you can’t leave now, you’re too cute!” [4]

13. Casual Touch

The casual touch is a big one because you’re breaking the touch barrier. This should work to get most guys’ attention. 

Examples: 

1. Leaning your head on his shoulder because ‘you’re tired’
2. Touching his arm because ‘you gotta compare suntans’
3. Kiss on the cheek when you’re leaving
4. ‘Accidentally trip’ next to him so that he ‘has’ to catch you
5. Ask him to walk you to your class and hold hands
6. Touching him when he makes your laugh
7. Footsie! Playfully touch one of his feet as a tease
8. If you’re at the gym, offer to be his very helpful spotter! For more gym examples, read 20 Moves: Meeting & Approaching Guys at the Gym and Getting Guys to Approach You

You get the idea… but for even more examples, read: 24 Subtle Techniques To Get Any Guy To Notice You & 5 Common Mistakes You Must Avoid

14. Exchange numbers

There are loads of ways guys ask girls for their number, but this time it’s your turn to ask him for his number or at the very least hand him your number with a slip of paper or something (which is what I see most commonly from my female friends).

If you’re at a bar, you can always use the bartender to pass your number along as I talk about my guide to meeting a good man at a bar: 17 Moves: Meeting & Approaching Guys at the Bar and Getting Guys to Approach You.

15. Ask him to hang out

I say ask him to ‘hang out’ specifically vs a ‘real date’ (read: 17 Subtle Ways To Get A Guy To Ask You Out & 5 Things You Must Never Try) because so far we’re not at the stage where you’re directly asking him out.... yet.

For this technique, think along the lines of just getting him to agree to spend some time with you doing things together.

For example:

1. “Heyyy, you’re a chill guy, I’m chill too! Let’s hang out, how about a coffee, then we could go work on your motorcycle together?”
2. “Hey, wanna try this new restaurant together?” If he says yes, dress and act as if you were on a date. If he says no, tell him you want to remain friends.
3. Sometimes you could be super spontaneous, just pick him up with your car and just go do something adventurous together 
4. If he talks about a new place he’d like to visit, ‘self-invite’ yourself to have a date with him there. Again, read 17 Subtle Ways To Get A Guy To Ask You Out & 5 Things You Must Never Try

Lastly, I’ll suggest that whichever way you choose to ask him out, make sure it’s a good venue: 11+ Best Places to Go on a First Date 

16. Wait till April fools

If you wait till April fools to tell your crush that you like him, you get a sort of safety net: if he likes you, awesome. If he doesn’t, you could always claim it was April fools.

17. Tell him while you’re alone

There are a couple reasons for waiting until you’re alone with him before you tell him that you love him:

1. If he sees your friends, he might think it’s a break
2. You’ll feel less nervous
3. He’ll feel less nervous 

This also applies to asking him to hang out with you: do it while you’re alone with him.

18. Approach him

By approaching a guy, you’re already signaling major interest. He sees that you built up enough courage to approach him and put in enough effort to start up a conversation. 

However, to learn how to approach a guy effectively, you’re gonna have to read my dedicated guide: 50 Techniques: Approaching Guys & Getting Approached By Guys You Like

• If you find yourself in bar specific situations, read: 17 Moves: Meeting & Approaching Guys at the Bar and Getting Guys to Approach You 
• If you find yourself in gym specific situations, read: 20 Moves: Meeting & Approaching Guys at the Gym and Getting Guys to Approach You

19. Compliment him

I think complimenting a guy is the most obvious way to convey interest to a guy. And the cool thing about this is because straight guys almost never get complimented, you’ll easily stand out with the simplest compliment. 

Here are some examples I’ve stolen and adapted from my article 215 Compliments for a Girl (Dress, Picture, Eyes, Lips, Hair):

1. Has anyone ever told you that your curious personality makes you super cute?
2. You have an amazing body
3. I love your style 
4. You have the smoothest hair (read: 43 Exclusive Methods To Flirt With a Guy In Any Situation [& Countless Examples])
5. I love your stunning blue eyes.

For more guidelines on coming up with good compliments, read 29 Little-Known Techniques to Compliment a Girl

20. Ask him out

Earlier, when discussing indirect ways to tell a guy you like him, we said you could ask him to hang out with you. 

This time, we’re going full direct. You are going to tell this guy you want to go out on a date with him. Romantic, not platonic!

Not sure how? Read: 17 Subtle Ways To Get A Guy To Ask You Out & 5 Things You Must Never Try

If you’re too nervous to be this direct, you could always (after having a decent ‘warm up conversation’) start planning what you’d do together on a hypothetical date together. 

Sure, it’s cringy, but if it works, who cares?

21. Get him alone with you

Sometimes things just happen when you put an a straight guy and a straight girl (or gay guys/girls) assuming both are at least mildly attractive!

There are many ways to pull off this technique:

1. Take him to romantic places alone. Do you have a cool stream/ river nearby you can walk by or even just a quiet park (where he could push you on the swings)? (Also, read: 17 Moves: Attract a Man Without Getting Rejected)
2. If you’re in a club, tell him that it’s too loud or that you need some air and you want to spend some time with him outside (from here you could always suggest splitting a taxi back to his or your place, but unless he’s totally clueless, he’ll understand that you’re asking him to fuck you)
3. If he’s the one to be closing up shop at work, suggest that you stay behind and help him finish up work so you both can get home earlier (Read: How to seduce a man: 19 techniques [with examples])
4. If he’s dropping you off in his car, even when he gets to your house, stay around in the car
5. Tell him that your friend canceled to go see a horror movie together with you and that you need to go with someone! …and of course, he needs to keep you feeling safe during the scary scenes!

Of course, this technique won’t always just work by itself, sometimes you’ll have to combine it with some… Sexual Touching!

22. Sexual touching

Do it the tried and true method.

1. Invite him out to a party/bar/whatever
2. Have a few drinks
3. Grab his junk
4. Refuse to leave in the morning

Easy!

Ok, seriously now. 

There are some ways to pull of sexual touching to get him to know for sure you like him and finally get him to take the initiative!

1. Caress his arm because ‘his sleeve is dirty’
2. Touch his shoulder to ‘fix his shirt/jacket’
3. Caress his hand as he’s saying a story
4. Touching legs when sitting beside or opposite each other (even naughtier if you do it secretly under the table while other people are around). Read 25 exclusive ways to turn on a guy and make him horny.
5. Lay your head down on his dick/ lap while watching TV (touch his D!)
6. While dancing at a club, pull him using his belt towards you (just don’t ruin this all by asking him to buy you a drink)
7. If he’s just sitting around doing nothing, come over and sit on his lap like some innocent girl and you don’t even know what you’re doing (although make sure you keep some smirk!)

The point is to keep escalating until he makes it clear that your advances aren’t welcome. Remember, sometimes boldness will win his heart too!

23. Tell him outright

A good chunk of the time being fully direct is the way. 

For some guys, anything less than fully direct will make them - for example - think that you only want to spend time alone as friends!

However, you gotta be careful that you don’t go ‘over-direct’, that is, if you take it too far, he’ll think that you’re just pranking him to get a reaction from you.

As the Buddha said, take the middle path. 

Here are some examples:

1. Hey, I can’t keep this to myself anymore, had to tell you that, ummm, I had a crush on your since the day we met
2. Hey, been thinking about when I could tell you this cause I’m so damn nervous, but I like you
3. I’m gonna be completely honest, I really like you

See? Easy! No need to over complicate things.

24. Over the phone

He’s away for the moment and you want to tell him that you love him long distance? Simple, just tell him over the phone with the same phrases as before!

25. Write a letter

This can be a super cute, romantic option. There could be many ways to pull this off, 2 ways that come to mind is:

1. Pass him a note with your number and a heart symbol 
2. If there’s already an assignment in class to write a poem, write a poem about how you like him

If you have any other ways to pull this off or stories of friends using these techniques, please share them in the comments below!

26. Text

If you wanna tell a guy you like him over text, you can do all the same techniques we spoke about earlier except of course using body language and anything involving touch!

Think about:

1. Treating him special over text (i.e. getting back to him first, lots of love emojis, etc.)
2. Telling him that you’d like to get to know him better over text 
3. Asking him to hang out over text
4. Giving him compliments over text

See, it’s not hard! Just look through any of our earlier techniques mentioned and apply it to your texting situation. 

27. Gym

You find yourself at the gym and have a crush on a guy you see there often. 

What can you do?

First, read my guide 20 Moves: Meeting & Approaching Guys At The Gym And Getting Guys To Approach You

That’s where you’ll find all my gym specific tips and after that just continue with the techniques in this guide. 

28. Work

When it comes to work, it’s important to realize it’s the absolute worst place to first as I talk about in my guide: Rich, Single & Hot: 73 Best Places To Meet Men [Tips Included]

Why?

Well, it’s not that guys are dumber at work, but because they are terrified of reading your signs as a false positive and being sent to HR as the work creep.

Nevertheless, there are some ways to flirt as I talk about in my post 12 Subtle Ways to Flirt With a Girl at Work & Date a Coworker. 

But honestly, flirting at work all boils down to one thing: when showing a guy you like at work, take it all very slow and give him time to build confidence with you. 

29. Hookup

You like him, but don’t want a relationship or he has a girlfriend and you just want something on the side. 

What can you do?

In this case, just be direct. 

Get super sexual quickly and don’t build any sort of comfort. 

No guy is gonna refuse casual sex with an attractive girl and no strings attached. 

30. what to do when a guy likes you

So what do you do when you finally build up the courage to tell him that you’ve had a crush on him since day one and he says…. “Me Too!”?

How can you immediately tell him that you absolutely like him back and create the relationship?

Do something together! Go check out a nearby river or even a small waterfall place if you have one. Go rock climbing. Maybe rent bikes and go around the city. Anything adventurous works!

31. Friend zoned him 

There’s a couple scenarios where you’d want to get out of the friendzone and convey your new interest:

1. He put you in the friendzone (for whatever reason or he was in a relationship when he met you)
2. You put him in the friendzone
3. You’ve just always been friends and now feeling are popping up out of nowhere

So the first thing you want to do before you say anything is preface that if he doesn’t share your feelings, you don’t want this to impact your solid friendship with him in the slightest. 

Examples:

1. Heyyyy, so… well… if you don't feel the same way that's cool, we'll just pretend this never happened, but I like you
2. I want you to forget I ever said this if you want to stay friends, but I’ve been developing a crush on you lately!
3. Look, I’m gonna be totally honest with you, but don’t let anything change anything between us… I like you more than a friend
4. I've had a crush on you for a while, curious if you feel that way too. If not, I don't mind being your friend, no pressure
5. Hey, I like you more than a friend. Would you be interested in something more too?

This not only makes it less awkward for you in the unfortunate chance that he turns you down, but also will put less pressure on him while he’s deciding on how to respond. 

Beyond this intro, here are some techniques to share your feelings without ruining your friendship:

1. Always try to do some spying by asking his friends what he thinks of you first
2. Warm up the conversation. Ask him to meet up, joke around and laugh as you normally would. Start talking about relationships and only then make your proposal. (Although, to be fair, there never will be a perfect moment for this, gotta just jump in!)
3. While conveying your feelings make him understand that you’re not giving him an ultimatum, rather a new option from your end (a romantic relationship) which he can capitalize on

What happens if he rejects you

Most of the time, if he rejects you, no matter how well you prefaced the conversation, it will impact your friendship. 

The following are some techniques to turn this into a short term issue and not something that will ruin your friendship.

1. As soon as he rejects you, tell him that you still want to keep the relationship by saying something along the lines of "cool, I hope we can stay friends because I really value our friendship" or "OK, good having you as a friend, unless anything changes we can forget this conversation ever happened”
2. The next day, say ‘Hi’ like nothing ever happened 
3. This may seem like a strange option, but if you really truly love him, you can always work to win him over the next month and then ask him again

What happens if he loses it and doesn’t even want to be your friend anymore? Well, in that case, I’d say you dodged a bullet, both platonically and romantically.

32. How to tell a guy you like him as a gay guy

Obviously, if you live in a country against gay rights, you gotta be super careful. But assuming you’re in a safe country, here’s how I do it as a bisexual guy (btw if you’re a bisexual guy or girl, give this a read too Step-by-Step: 25 Un-Awkward Ways to Tell a Girl You Like Her):

1. Do everything to determine his sexuality first. Going in half sure that he’s into guys isn’t gonna do you any favors. And if he is straight, there’s nothing that you can do which can change that. (By the way, I’ll soon be writing an article on how to tell if a guy is gay or not, so check back!)
2. If he’s in a relationship, leave him alone.
3. Ask him if he’s on Grindr or if you’ve chatted before on Grindr
4. Sometimes just telling a guy that you’re gay and asking him if he’s gay too is enough to convey interest, kind of like telling a guy you’re single and asking if he’s single too
5. Any of the body language + eye contact tips mentioned earlier can be enough if both of you are openly gay
6. Of course touching e.g. a little footsie, arm touching, etc.
7. Compliments! 

Personally, I don’t like approaching guys I don’t know unless I’m in a gay bar because some straight guys can somehow get offended that another guy finds them attractive…but one time I did.

One day I was in the gym (I go 4 times a week) and saw this tall (190cm), really good looking guy (turns out he’s a real male model!).

I just HAD to talk to him. 

Anyways, I just started chatting him up about the correct form for specific exercises (I think it was the one arm row) and I could tell that he was a cool guy. 

So just before he left I told him that I’m bisexual and that I like him too!!

He was a bit taken aback, but super cool about it. He told me that he’s straight, but that he really liked that I approached him and that he’d be happy to be friends.

We exchanged numbers, met up at the pride event in my city and made out while the girl he was seeing wasn’t around (he’s admittedly bi-curious). 

But we stayed good friends for a while and I even joined his friend group for a couple months until I realized the ONLY thing he (and the group) enjoyed doing was drinking and partying which is not my thing.

But I don’t regret doing that approach so maybe go for it next time you see a guy you really like!

33. How to tell a guy you don’t like him

For any questions regarding telling a guy you don’t like or love him when you’re not dating or after you’ve been leading him on, read: 59 Moves: How To Tell A Someone You’re Not Interested And Reject a Guy or Girl [& Countless Examples]

34. How not to tell a guy you like him

Here are some things that I’ve noticed girls mistakenly saying or doing when they really mean to convey interest: 

1. Flirting with other guys in front of him (jealousy doesn’t really work on guys the same way it works on girls)
2. Talking about how many guys you’ve been with (again jealousy)
3. Complaining about other guys flirting with you (he won’t want to sexually escalate out of fear of being labeled a creep)

In general, avoid negative tactics and just be honest and upfront.

Thanks for reading, 

Nick