How A Guy Knows When He’s Got You Hooked
August 30, 2009 by Tobias S.
Filed under Featured, Guys, Explained
Ever heard of the expression ‘doggy dinner bowl look’?
Like a hungry puppy dog contemplating a bowl of food, the doggy dinner bowl look (or DDBL) is one of unrestrained desire, and for men who recognize it, it’s the ultimate signal that a woman is all yours. Of course, you have to watch for it, and it can be easy to miss!
Failing the DDBL, the next best signal that lets us know you’re ours is when you start to laugh at all our jokes (let’s face it, not all of them are funny). That’s a pretty sure signal too.
As a matter of fact, in the ’seduction community’ (these are the guys who’ve elevated getting girls to an art form), the gold standard for knowing a woman is interested in you is three ‘IOIs’ within a short space of time. IOI stands for ‘indicator of interest‘, and it could be anything from the above mentioned laughter-at-bad-jokes, to the classic playing-with-the-hair, to compliments, touching, leaning in, holding hands while squeezing through a crowd and then not letting go straight away afterwords, and so on.
Not all men are so knowledgeable about women though, so if you want to let a guy know you like him, sometimes you’ll need to spell out your interest a little more clearly…yes, a written invitation would be lovely, thanks.
Of course, this all relates strictly to when we first meet you. A little further along in the relationship, how do we know you’re getting serious about us? …Well, sex is usually a good start! If that hurdle has already been jumped, then the final signal we look for that it’s not merely a fling for you is either or both of the following:
1) Any sign of jealousy – for example, we talk to another girl on a night out, and you get bent out of shape about it; and 2) Being introduced to your friends or family. Why these two things? Read on to find out.
Jealousy
Why is jealousy a powerful indicator that we’ve got you hooked? Because jealousy is reserved for people we feel something for. In order to be jealous of someone, you have to care about them in the first place. It’s exactly the same for men as it is for women, and as an aside, this is why while it’s fine to recount tales of your sexual (mis)adventures with a guy you’re seeing on a casual basis, it’s not a good idea to do the same thing with a guy you’re serious about.
A man who’s really into you doesn’t want to think about you being with anyone else, whether it’s in the present, the future, or a day before your 16th birthday upstairs at Susie Mitchell’s party with that boy from the 10th grade. Men are funny like that. So keep it to yourself.
Meeting your friends or family
When people get a new boyfriend or girlfriend that they like and are serious about, they always (consciously or subconsciously) want the approval of their friends and family. This works a little differently for guys, because if you’re really hot, we might introduce you to our mates strictly on a ‘check-out-the-girl-I’m-doing-it-with, not-bad-eh basis’, but generally people introduce their lovers to friends and family because they’re seeking approval of their choice.
So: when you invite us to dinner at your parent’s place, brunch with your sister, or even on a night out with your friends, and then you get jealous if we spend too much time talking to the other ladies in the group, we know that’s a sure signal you want us to stick around!
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Completely agree with jealousy or meetings friends or family when serious – duh! Other, earlier indicators, though, are very individual I think. Laughter-at-bad-jokes – yes, for sure. Playing-with-the-hair – I just do it in all kinds of different situations for no reason at all. So, guys, don’t get too excited.
Compliments – absolutely. Touching, leaning, holding hands, yes. But I found, though, that in the end just saying “I had a great time and would love to do this/see you again” works really well so no one has to guess whether playing with the hair for an hour really meant anything. 
I agree with you on part of this AT: Every time a girl twirls her hair in the presence of a guy, it doesn’t mean she’s interested. Every guy & girl uses some IOI’s but they are all not the same for everybody
However I do think in dating, just being completely upfront, in clear, articulate speech about whether you like someone is no fun!
This is probably another topic, but personally, I think that deep down, we (we = both guys & girls) enjoy playing “the game”. We like giving a little sign and having the other person pick up on it and understand it’s meaning. It lets us know that the other person is on our same page. It makes us feel understood without us having to say “Yes, I like you.”:)