What your body language reveals about you?

You know that old saying about actions speaking louder than words? It's so true; your body language reveals a lot about you. Your facial expressions and body gestures are the first things people notice--even if they don't consciously realize it. Before you utter a single word, your mannerisms, no matter how subtle, send a message that's loud and clear. Your posture, how you hold your arms, what your eyes focus on--these all speak volumes.

Want to learn how to decipher your body language and use it to your advantage?

The Approachable Helper Pose

For instance, you're sitting in the center of a couch filled with all your friends. You are all hanging out. Every once in a while, you lean over and whisper funny comments in your BFF's ear. A pretty daunting sitch for a guy, don't ya think? If you want to make yourself more accessible, get up off that couch and offer to help the hostess--pass around food, take care of drink refills, make sure the snack bowls are bottomless. This way, you're busying yourself--alone--and you're not glued to the furniture. Just don't be so busy picking up used cups and napkins that your crush can't get to you. Slow down and give him a moment to say hi to you!

The Open-Palm Hair Flip

A hair flip snags attention in a casual way. Don't do a full-on Cameron Diaz hair toss, which can look sloppy or even ditzy. Instead, slowly throw back your hair with an open palm once. Smoothing your hair is flirty, too, but overdoing it can come off as annoying. "Playing with your hair too much can be a negative sign of being uptight," says Roslyn Roland of The Image and Etiquette Institute in New Jersey.

The Hand-on-Hip Stance

Placing one hand on your hip shows confidence! But be careful, because hands on both hips can be viewed as aggressive. Hand-on-Hip is also a great way to avoid nervous habits, like hair twirling. What to do with that other hand? If you want to express an interest while chatting with your hottie, a quick brush to his arm anywhere from the wrist to the elbow is flirty in a good way.

The Look-Here Look-There Trick

"Part of flirting is appearing to lose interest in order to create more interest from the other person. Looking down or away falls into this category," says relationship specialist Susan Quilliam. This is what's traditionally known as "playing hard-to-get," girls, and for whatever reason, it mostly works. So while eye contact is important, avoid the getting into a staring contest. Look him in the eye when you're talking to him but let your eyes dart away now and then.

You meet a group of girls at the Y, and they invite you to go along for burgers after shooting some hoops. On the court, you're completely at ease. But you're not so sure of yourself in a setting where you actually have to try to carry on a fun conversation. You really want these girls to like you, which makes you even more nervous.

Making new friends is challenging. Lots of girls admit being shy out of fear that they won't be liked. If you feel that way, realize most girls are a little nervous around new groups. No biggie, really.

The Super-Casual Handshake

Shaking hands is the safest form of touch. So, when introduced even to other girls, it's totally cool to extend your right hand and shake. "Shaking hands breaks the stranger barrier," says Patti Wood, author of Success Secrets: Body Language in Business. It also gives you an opportunity to etch a name into your brain. Remembering the names of people you meet can be tough because your mind is reeling from the newness of it all. As you shake hands, repeat the person's name to lock it into your memory: "Hi, Tiffany, so nice to meet you!"

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