Are you misreading his signals?

TWO-way communication, especially when emotions are involved, isn’t always crystal clear for both parties, and often, messages get lost in translation as one party misinterprets the signals from the other.

This often occurs in male-female relationships where one party wants more, and out of that yearning may come the belief that feelings are reciprocated, especially when the object of that affection seems receptive.

How can you tell that someone is interested in more than a friendship, and doesn’t just see you as a great buddy?

The men below share signs that a guy just wants a platonic relationship.

Mark Walcott:

If I just want a friendship it will be a hi and bye situation. You won’t catch me calling her often, texting her often, carrying her out, or trying to be around her all the time. If I invest my time, effort, and money in her, I have other motives.

Jahnoy Edwards:

If I’m interested I won’t come out direct with it. I will flirt a bit, invite her out a few times, spend time around her — quality time and not necessarily lots of time. But if I just want to be friends, looking for someone I can flex and reason with, I’m not going to spend a lot of personal time with her. We’ll talk and go out but I will keep the interaction and conversation general. Women are emotional beings, and the minute you increase contact time, calls, dates, and show a tiny bit of interest, they zoom into it. Plus if you see her as a friend but you’re always carrying her out, telling people about her, and getting jealous of her other male friends, she will have every reason to believe you’re interested. Any man who wants just a friendship will never get territorial.

Ricardo Johnson:

For me, as long as I’ve never brought the argument of sex to her I see her as a friend. There are, however, exceptions to the rule and there are females who I’ve never brought sex to and whom I’m interested in. I will carry them out, make them meet my family, spend a lot of time with them, and try to woo them. But if I see you as a friend I won’t waste time leading you on with treats and showering you with all those things. It would be unfair. In reality, friends hang out a lot, but when it comes to the pampering aspect I would definitely eliminate that if you’re just a friend in my eyes.

Christopher Ffrench:

If I just want a friend I’ll keep the interaction minimal and clean. I may share life experiences, obstacles, how I overcame things, and such discussions. But if I’m interested I would ask her out more than once, try to get to know her, spend time with her, maybe speak about long-term goals in life. I’d ask her about her views on family and tell her mine, make my friends know about her, always offer a helping hand, show concern and care, and most importantly, listen to her. Women like men who will listen.

Rory Aarons:

If I see her as just a friend we would go out with other friends, and everywhere we go someone else would be there. But if I’m interested in her I would try to spend time with her alone to understand and get to know her. I’d ask her about settling down and where she sees herself in five years.

Jermaine Dixon:

What do friends do? Hang with other friends, go to concerts and places that are very public. If I’m interested it would be the opposite. When we’re together I’d try my best to ensure the interaction is simply between us. I would always want to communicate with you. Always invite you to places, try to convince you to like what I like. Eventually I would want you to meet my family, discuss your outlook on life, and see if you’re headstrong and if your goals match with mine.

Nathaniel Morris:

If I see her as a friend, common courtesy would be the order of the day. If I’m interested I would be able to pick her out of a crowd, meaning if I go somewhere crowded she’d always have my full attention. I’d always be willing to do something for her, I’d always ask her out, be willing to talk to her, discuss life and practically everything with her. She’d find me doing with her what I wouldn’t do with every other girl. The exceptional things would be reserved for her.