One thing that every man must have in his arsenal of dating skills is a solid understanding of female body language. You can powerfully increase your flirting and attraction with some basic knowledge in this area. Despite the ignorance of most guys in this area, body language is one of the least understood communication skills. It is something that I not taught in schools, not spoken about much in men’s magazines, nor discussed with men over beers at the local pub on a Friday night.

The shocking truth of how powerful body language is came to me several years ago after reading a book on the subject. I was sitting in a meeting at work, a very large meeting, with the big boss talking to all the employees. There had been several rumors floating around about mergers, and relocation. I worked at a large medical products company, and up until then all of the products were manufactured on sight in southern California. Had they decided to shift manufacturing to another location for cheap labor, such as Mexico, many jobs would be lost.

Because everybody was hearing these rumors, the big boss decided to hold meeting in an attempt to calm everybody down. I happened to be sitting in the front row. After dancing around the issue as eloquently as he could, somebody finally asked a direct question:

“Are we going to lose our jobs to Mexico?”

His answer:

“I promise, we will always manufacture our products in the United States.”

Everybody seemed to accept this answer, except me. When he said it, he was leaning back, half standing, half leaning against the podium, his legs were crossed at the ankles, and neither of his the souls of his shoes were touching the floor. His arms were crossed in front of him, and he wasn’t looking anybody in the eye.

His word said one thing, but his body language said something completely different. He was lying. Apparently, I was the only one who noticed, as the rumors stopped.

Until about three months later, when they announced, seemingly out of the blue that the entire manufacturing department was shutting down. Hundreds of jobs, hundreds of people that had worked there for many years, were lost.

Luckily, because I was able to read his body language instead of his words, I had been actively searching for a job in the meantime, so I was prepared.

This is an example of male/male body language communication, which can be powerful during negotiations, interviews, detecting if somebody is lying. They can be just as powerful when flirting or trying to attract the woman of your dreams.

This is one area that unfortunately many men are completely clueless on. To say this is the weakest point of male communication would be an understatement. I once watched a friend of mine try (unsuccessfully) to pick up a girl in a bar. She was sitting her friend at a table. He stopped, and was standing above her. (Not a good idea by the way, you seem too intimidating when you do this.) Every time he leaned in to speak to her, she would lean back, and unconsciously touch her necklace.

Leaning back is an obvious STAY AWAY, but the necklace touching is also a huge sign of disinterest. She was unconsciously protecting her neck, a very vulnerable part of the body. When I asked my friend about this later, he said he had no idea that was going on.

Next time you are at a bar or a club, and are trying to impress the ladies, paying subtle attention to her body language can go a long way.

Is she open? Is she protecting her vulnerable areas? Are her breasts pointed at you or away from you? When she talks does she look at you, or is she looking around the room? What about her feet? Are they pointed at you or away?

While difficult at first, paying attention to her body language can give you a powerful edge in your flirting and seduction efforts. By only paying attention to girls that are into you, you will spend a lot less effort, and save yourself a lot of frustration, heartache, and time.

And a great side benefit is because you will only be paying attention to girls that are paying attention to you, your self-confidence and self-esteem will shoot through the roof. Before you know it you’ll be able to read the body language of an entire room, and determine right away whom you should talk to, and whom you should leave to all other guys out there who haven’t been enlightened by this article.