Most people have been there – the dreaded friend zone that’s okay for a while, but you might find yourself trying to get out of at some point. After all, feelings of friendship can quickly turn into feelings of love when you least expect it, but if your crush still considers you a friend and nothing else, what are you supposed to do next?

Luckily, whether you’re male or female, there are things you can do if you want to learn how to step out of the friend zone and into a more meaningful relationship, and most of them are a lot. easier than you think.

Types of friend zones

Believe it or not, just because you’re not sleeping with your crush doesn’t automatically mean you’re in the friend zone. In fact, there are basically two different types of friend zones. The first is the emotional friend zone, and that involves being friends with someone you share everything with, someone you consider a best friend but don’t have a sexual relationship with.

The second type of friend zone is the sexual friend zone. Some people call these relationships “friends with benefits,” but when you’re not having sex, your conversations are always less than serious and very casual. Some people stay in this type of relationship for years, but there’s always a problem when one of you wants to get out of the friend zone and the other doesn’t.

No matter what kind of friend zone you find yourself in, all is not lost just because your crush isn’t currently reciprocating your romantic feelings. There are, in fact, things you can do to dramatically increase the chances that your current “friend” will soon be your lover. All you have to do is be brave enough to try one of these tips, and they include the following.

1. Determine if it’s worth it

What if you tell your crush how you feel and it ruins the friendship between you? It’s always a possibility when you feel bold enough to go ahead with your plans to seduce your current friend zone partner. So before you do anything, you need to think about all your options and all the possible ways this can end. If there is even the possibility that it could ruin your friendship, you have to decide for yourself if it is worth it and then proceed accordingly.

2. Think about the timing of your actions

This means not only waiting for the right time to tell your friend how you feel, but also making sure that friend isn’t going through a stressful time right now.

If your friend is stressed about his job or anything in his personal life, now is probably not the time to tell him about your feelings for him. Wait until your friend is a little less stressed before approaching them with this type of shocking news. You should also wait until you are alone with him and have some quiet time so that neither of you gets distracted at the wrong time.

3. Tell your friend exactly how you feel

They say honesty is the best policy, but does that apply when you’re trying to get out of the friend zone? Basically, yes. Unless you’re sure how your friend will react, which is doubtful, go ahead and tell them how you feel and see what happens next. Direct communication and honesty are sometimes the best way to go in this situation.

A word of warning; However, if your friend rejects the idea of ​​you being more than friends, you should respect that decision and move on.

4. Give yourself time

You can’t expect a friendship to turn into a full fledged romantic relationship overnight. You have to give it time. In the meantime, try spending time alone with him to see if you can gauge his feelings for you and to determine if there are any sparks.

Pay attention to what he says and does, and when you feel comfortable doing so, you can even throw in a few playful, flirty acts to see how he reacts to it. But above all, accept the fact that it won’t happen quickly — at least that’s how it is in most relationships.

5. Initiate more physical contact, but do it slowly

Opposite-sex or even same-sex friends don’t normally touch each other romantically, so if you decide to do it with your friend, it’s very likely that he’ll end up seeing you in a much more romantic way. Start slowly by touching his arm or back, but also be respectful.

After all, not everyone likes to be touched, so start slow and see what their reactions are, and only move to the next level of touching when you get a response from them that tells you to continue.

6. Avoid the situation in the first place

When you meet someone and become friends with them, you basically only have a small window of opportunity to become more than friends, and you have to take advantage of it.

Of course, the best way to get out of the friend zone is to never get into it at all. That’s not always possible, of course, because sometimes it takes years for romantic feelings to develop in someone. But if you quickly learn that you want to be more than friends with someone, don’t delay in acting on those feelings.

7. Do things to make them see you romantically

It can be simple things, like telling your friend, “If I had a boyfriend/girlfriend, I would…”. It gives your friend something to think about, and even if he’s not ready to consider you more than a friend right now, it may make him more likely to feel that way in the future. It also lets him know you’d be a great partner, so if he’s ever ready to fill those shoes, he’ll know you’d make a great partner.

8. Go ahead and flirt with him

Even if you’re just friends right now, there’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t flirt with him, even if only occasionally. In fact, flirting only occasionally can give you an idea of ​​how he feels about you being more than friends, so it’s often a good place to start.

You don’t have to constantly flirt with him, but the occasional flirtatious gesture plants the idea of ​​a romantic relationship between the two of you in his head, so he’ll at least start thinking about it. Come to think of it, that means that when he’s ready for a romantic relationship, he’ll be much more likely to choose you in the end.

9. Perform thoughtful actions and surprises

If you know he loves sugar cookies, surprise him with a homemade batch. Do something nice and considerate – something he didn’t expect you to do. In fact, it’s a great way to make someone fall in love with you, because let’s face it, everyone loves people who do things they love for them.

Again, you don’t have to do this all the time, as it won’t be as special, but surprising him occasionally with a thoughtful act can go a long way in creating the relationship you want with him.

10. Stop obsessing over him

No matter how long it’s been since you admitted your true feelings about this person, never let it become an obsession. There will come a time when you either have to let the person know how you feel or move on and forget about it. If you don’t, you might go crazy for the whole ordeal.

Go out with other people, focus on yourself, and start thinking about something other than trying to turn a friend into a lover. Eventually, the relationship will work or it won’t work, and you’ll have to decide how to react to the situation afterwards.

Conclusion

Learning to get out of the friend zone can be difficult and scary, but you’ll probably be surprised at the reaction you’ll get from your friend.

In fact, you might even be surprised yourself and learn that he actually has the same feelings for you. If he doesn’t, however, you should realize that in most cases, it’s not because you did anything wrong. It could be a million different things that are causing him not to be interested in you right now, but keep in mind that could change in an instant.

Paying close attention to signals can also help you get closer to exiting the friend zone, because the more you know how he feels, the more willing you’ll be to take advantage of the situation and try to steer him away from it. a friend as a lover.