Every once in a while, an article will come around telling you new tactics on how to approach people to whom you’re attracted. While they may be valid, most of them seem to require a lot of work (ew). Maybe sometimes what you need is not a confidence overhaul, but just an edge over your competition (i.e. the rest of the single-and-looking population). The following are some of the easiest tactics people can do to boost their chances in the dating scene:

Talk into someone’s right ear instead of their left – A few years ago, Wired magazine wrote an article about a study which found that when someone requests something from you, you are likelier to say, “yes” when they approach you from the right side. It is theorized that this happens because our right and left brain hemispheres appear to be tuned for positive and negative emotions, respectively.

Wear red – We have blogged about this before. In both men and women, wearing red increases your level of attractiveness when rated by the opposite sex. Women view men who wear red as more powerful and more sexually desirable (and vise versa).

Tilt your head in a particular direction – One study showed that if men have their head tilted about 15 degrees backward they were rated as more masculine and more attractive by women than when their heads were tilted forward. Conversely, when women tilted their head about 15 degrees forward, they were rated as being more attractive than when they tilted their head backward by the same amount.

Touch the forearm – In 2007, researchers looked at whether the simple act of a man touching a woman’s arm when requesting something would increase the chances of her saying, “yes”. In the first study, a man approached women at a nightclub asking them to dance while touching (or not touching) their arm for 1 to 2 seconds. In the second experiment, a young man asked women on the street for their phone numbers while touching (or not touching) their arm for the same amount of time. In both studies, women were likelier to say yes and dance and give their phone numbers, respectively if the man touched them while asking. A link was found between touch and the dominant position of the male and was used to explain these results theoretically.

Smile (or don’t) – You may recall that we wrote a blog about this last year. But this information is definitely worth repeating. Researchers found that while men were most attracted to women who were smiling, women were actually least attracted to men who were smiling, when compared with other traits (including sadness and shame!) Therefore, if you’re a woman, smile more. If you’re a man, maybe smile a little less and try to display expressions of pride when you can.

So there you have it; quick and painless things you can do to increase your chances of sex, or even just getting a date.

Further Reading:

Guéguen, N. (2007). Courtship compliance: The effect of touch on women’s behavior Social Influence, 2 (2), 81-97 DOI: 10.1080/15534510701316177

Stirrat M, & Perrett DI (2010). Valid facial cues to cooperation and trust: male facial width and trustworthiness. Psychological science, 21 (3), 349-54 PMID: 20424067

University of Rochester (2008, October 28). Red Enhances Men’s Attraction To Women, Psychological Study Reveals. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 10, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2008/10/081028074323.htm