Life is short. So when you`re out on the town meeting new women, no point in wasting time. How can you tell which ladies really welcome seduction? What clues do they give off? Here`s a guide to the things they say and do that mean they like you.

She makes eye contact: If you haven`t met yet but catch her looking at you then glancing away, then checking back to see if you`re still looking at her ... this is a sign, gentlemen! Even better: She keeps you in her keen peripheral vision (8 to 4 o`clock) or dispatches her friends to covertly track your moves. Yes, this sounds totally juvenile, but it never changes — no matter how old she is. Just make sure she`s actually staring at you, not the Mahendra Singh Dhoni look-a-like next to you (or Dhoni himself, because nothing`s more embarrassing than responding to her glances with your best sexy look only to find you`re standing under the TV set during a good game).

She smiles, tells you her name and starts throwing off physical signals: Good signs are that she`s ruffling her feathers: hair fluffing, twirling, extra giggling, strutting or wiggling around. And think you`re so sly sneaking a peak at her cleavage? Dummy — she was letting you look. Meanwhile, is she politely shooing away people who drift in to interrupt? That`s fantastic! She`s trying to keep the party to two.

She searches for commonalities: Any. Thing. At. All. Favourite sweets you had as a kid, water sports, late-night sitcoms. And if you really seem to have nothing in common? She says, "Wow! I`ve always wanted to try that", regardless of whether you`re going on about shark-cage diving or a pottery class. But if she frowns at you blankly, clearly having no clue what you`re talking about, move on. She might actually do the moving on for you by enlisting her wing girl, introducing you both as lovers of water parks/Juicy Fruit/"Seinfeld", then diving off to the bathroom, never to return.

She touches you: That may mean she touches your shoulder when she leans in to talk or gives you a friendly jab in the ribs. Subtly test waters by letting your knee rest on hers. She lets it stay there? Score! If she`s taking great pains not to let any part of her body linger near yours or if she recoils abruptly at your touch, even by accident, move on!

She`s taking the interaction to another level by a) clarifying that she`s talking about an ex-boyfriend, not a current one, when she says "we", b) asking open-ended questions about you that require long answers, and c) dissuading you from leaving and going to the next party (or at least being very forward in opining that you should come back if it`s rubbish).

BDST: 1529 HRS, Sep-11, 2013
SIS/GCP