The Art of Flirting

Humans have evolved. Gone are the days when a succession of grunts and the gift of a dead mammal were considered viable introductions to the object of your desires; in modern times the 21st century homosapien must engage in the art of flirting.

But what is flirting? On the big screen and in the pages of romantic novels it is a sleek, almost effortless exchange between two could-be lovers. Winks are shot across the room as if they were shot directly from Cupid’s bow, innuendos verging on crude are passed to and fro like a Wimbledon semi-final and there’s more chemistry than even Walter White could handle; it’s an energetic, adrenaline filled process that almost always ends favourably. Of course, in reality the success of this interaction is far from guaranteed. At best, flirting is a precise balancing act of expressing interest whilst not appearing too interested, and getting to know the other person without creating the impression you are conducting a survey. At worst, it can be a palpitating, regimented tick box exercise of a conversation; a series of mundane questions that have left the lips of wannabe Casanovas for decades. Flirting should be an organic, light hearted and fun way of laying the foundations for what could be a dating or a lifelong relationship, but all too often it is a stale, alcohol fuelled string of clichéd one liners and closed questions that only serve to irritate rather than attract the subject in question.

This leads us to the question of “How do you flirt successfully?” It is a practice very much considered in the restricted bracket of “you either have it or you don’t”, but like countless other things that carry this tag line it is simply not true. “Game”, “The gift of the gab”, “a bit of chat” and the many other names it goes by can be just as easily honed as any other skill by remembering and adopting some very simple principles.