“Flirt — a girl whose favorite man is the next one.” —Anonymous
After spending the day together shopping and dining, a friend told me she marveled at my ability to flirt and said I should teach classes on flirting!
I hadn’t really thought about it until she said it. Yes, I am friendly, I smile at both men and women, and I say positive things to men. And sometimes I more overtly flirt.
Take yesterday. I was traveling and commented on the skycap’s Southern accent. “Where’s your accent from?”
“Texas, ma’am.”
“You don’t sound like you’re from Texas. You don’t have that twang.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I hate my accent and have been trying to lose it for years.”
“Oh, no. It’s charming. No need to lose it.” I smiled.
Big smile: “You just made my day.”
“I’m glad. By the way, is Tommy still here? He had braids and his son was also a skycap.”
“I’ve worked here for many years and don’t know a Tommy. However, my son used to work here and I had braids until recently. My son is now in college.”
“You don’t look old enough to have a son in college.” I smiled again.
Big smile: “Wow! You’ve made my week now! Thank you very much. I hope you have a great trip.”
With that, I walked away and we both had smiles on our faces.
Did it cost me anything to say what I said? No. Was I lying? No, nothing I said was a lie. Did I want anything from him? No. Did it make him feel better? Absolutely!
So if you don’t already, practice flirting. Now don’t flirt with coupled men who you think will misinterpret it. I flirt with my gal pals’ husbands in front of them. But I include them in the flirt: “Annie, you really scored snagging such a cute husband.” “Laura, your hubby is so buff how do you keep your hands off him?” “Sharon, you must be so proud to have such a successful husband.”
Practice on waiters. Two gal pals and I were being seated by the waiter who said “And here is a special table for three beautiful women.” I responded, “And we get to be waited on by a handsome waiter.” Was he handsome? Not really. But he started it! I just wanted to continue the theme. I doubt that many women told him he was handsome. Did it cost me anything? No. And we got the best service ever — plus he comped us dessert!
So flirt with abandon with strangers. Practice with flight attendants, waiters, hotel staff, anyone who you feel won’t think you mean more. It’s fun. It will make their day, and yours, and when it comes time to flirt with someone who interests you, you’ll feel comfortable, not nervous.
Comments
2 responses to “Flirt your heart out”
Do you see any difference between men flirting and women flirting? I’ve known several people who have taught classes in flirting — they all were women. Somehow I tend to think that men like it when women flirt but women are less accepting when men do it. What’s your experience?
I find men flirting as much as women. Perhaps they sense that I am playful, so I get flirted with more often. But I enjoy the game of it. Somehow I think they can sense when a woman is “flirtable” — she has a smile on her face, an easy laugh, an approachable feel. If you seem too serious or uptight, I doubt you’ll get much flirting action. So loosen up, relax, have fun and play. Some women don’t want to flirt for fear the man will take her seriously and she won’t know how to say no when he asks for her number. I haven’t had a problem with that, so let go of that concern.