If you have noticed that a guy gets nervous around you, you’re probably wondering why and if it means that he’s attracted to you.
This post will help you to figure out why a guy would get nervous around you and help you to make sense of it as it happens in the future.
So, what does it mean when a guy gets nervous around you? Possible causes of a guy getting nervous around you are that he is attracted to you, he thinks that you don’t like him, he has some social-anxiety, he feels threatened by you or he doesn’t want to tell you something.
Since there are a number of reasons why a guy will get nervous around you it is important to consider the body language signs that he shows around you and the context of your interactions with him.
By doing so you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the reason that he gets nervous around you.
Possible reasons why a guy will get nervous around you
Each of the different reasons why a guy will get nervous around you will likely come with a number of clues in his body language.
Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy will get nervous around you and the body language signs that you should look for.
He’s attracted to you
The reason that a guy gets nervous around you could be that he is attracted to you.
This would be more likely if he only seems to get nervous when you’re around and if his body language changes when he notices you.
The reason that getting nervous around you could be a sign of attraction is that it would signal that it is causing him to be nervous that he’ll make a bad impression or that he’ll do something that you won’t like.
If he is nervous around you because he’s attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show other signs of attraction in his body language.
These signs can include:
- Having dilated pupils when he’s around you
- Blinking more frequently when talking to you
- Standing close to you when talking to you
- Positioning himself to be near you when you’re in a group
- Laughing and looking to see if you are as well
- Sitting or standing with a more upright posture when he first notices you
- Maintaining prolonged eye contact with you
- Looking at you from a distance and then quickly looking away when you notice
- Adjusting his clothing or hair when he notices you
- Mirroring your body language
- Asking your friends about you
- Asking you more questions that his other friends
- Getting anxious when you’re talking to other men
- Pointing his feet at you even if he is to your side
- Making plans based on your schedule
- Finding excuses to touch you
- Looking at your lips
He has some social anxiety
The reason that he gets nervous around you might be because he has some social anxiety.
If that is the case then it would be likely that he would show signs of nervousness when he is around other people as well.
It would also be likely that his body language wouldn’t appear to be much different around you compared to what it is like with other people. That is unless he also is attracted to you in which case he would likely show signs of being attracted to you.
It would also be likely that he would be less anxious when he is only with you or with people that he knows well.
He feels threatened by you
The reason that he gets nervous around you might actually be because he feels like you are threatening in some way.
This would be more likely to be the case if you can get quite vocal around him, if you are in a position of authority over him in some way or if you hang around with people that he feels threatened by.
If it is the case that he gets nervous around you because he feels threatened by you then it would be likely that he would show signs of being submissive around you as well.
These signs can include:
- Avoiding eye contact with you
- Laughing with the mouth
- Distancing himself from you
- Showing vulnerable areas like the palms or neck
- Speaking at a higher pitch
- Avoiding making large movements
- Looking at the exit
- Pointing the feet away from you
- Avoiding touching you
He thinks that you’ll be judgemental
The reason that he gets nervous around you could be that he feels like you will judge him for what he has to say.
This would be more likely to be the reason if you tend to be quite reactive around him or if you have argued with him in some way in the past.
If it is why he’s nervous around you then it would be likely that he would change his behavior and body language when he notices you.
If he is nervous around you for this reason then it would be likely that he would show other signs in his body language such as:
Being quiet around you
- Pointing the feet away from you
- Distancing himself from you
- Self-hugging
- Having tight lips when you’re talking
- Avoiding eye contact with you
- Avoiding talking to you
He doesn’t want to tell you something
The reason that he is nervous around you might be because there is something that he doesn’t want to tell you about.
If that is the case then it would be likely that you would know him reasonably well.
There are many things that he might not want to tell you about but some examples could be that he has a girlfriend, knows something about you or that he thinks your wrong about something.
If he is acting nervous around you because he doesn’t want to tell you something then it would be likely that he would show some signs of restraining himself when around you. These can include:
- Having tight lips when you’re talking
- Coughing when talking about a certain topic
- Rubbing the face, neck, arms or legs when talking about a certain subject
- Avoiding you
- Crossing the arms and legs around you or when talking about a certain subject
- Scratching the neck when talking about a certain subject
- Avoiding eye contact with you
- General deviations from his normal behavior when talking about a certain topic
- Changing the subject when talking about certain topics
He doesn’t like your friends
The reason that he gets nervous around you might actually be because of your friends.
If that is the case then it would be likely that he would not show signs of nervousness around you sometimes but that he would when certain people are present.
Consider your relationship with him
When trying to figure out why he gets nervous around you it would be helpful to consider the type of relationship that you have with him.
If he is your friend then it could be the case that he does it because he is actually attracted to you in which case he would show signs of attraction when he is around you. However, if he seems to behave the same way around other people as well then it would be likely that he would be doing it due to having some social anxiety.
If it was a guy that you had met for the first time then it could be that he was nervous because he was attracted to you and he wanted to make a good impression on you. However, it might also have been that he doesn’t like your friends or that he felt threatened by you in some way. You would need to consider the type of body language signals that he was showing you and the way that he interacted with others to be sure.
Consider when and where he gets nervous
The timing and the location of when he gets nervous would also likely be helpful in figuring out why he does it.
If he isn’t always nervous around you then it would make it more likely that he either doesn’t like certain people that you hang out with, that he is hiding something from you such as a girlfriend or that he doesn’t want to be seen with you by certain people for some reason.
However, if he always seems to act that way then it would make it more likely that he is either attracted to you, socially anxious, that he feels threatened by you or that he thinks that you’ll be judgemental.
Look at the type of body language signals that he is showing
Considering the type of body language signals that he shows when he is nervous around you will be very helpful in figuring out why he does it.
If he shows numerous signs of being attracted to you in his body language as mentioned above then it would make it much more likely that it is the reason that he is nervous.
Whereas, if he seems to be showing numerous signs of being restrained around you by doing things like pointing the feet away from you or glancing at the exit then it would make it less likely that he is attracted to you and more likely that he’s nervous for a different reason.
Consider his normal behavior
When trying to make sense of why he gets nervous around you it would be helpful to be aware of what his normal behavior looks like.
If you notice that he tends to get nervous around other people as well and his body language and behavior aren’t much different around you then it would make it more likely that he has some social anxiety.
Whereas, if you notice that he acts normally around other people but he only seems to get nervous around you then it would be much more likely that he is actually attracted to you.
Related
What does it mean if a confident guy gets nervous around you? If a guy that is generally confident gets nervous around you then there would be a good chance that he is attracted to you. You would need to see some other signs of attraction to confirm that. It might be that he thinks you don’t like him, that he thinks you’ll be judgemental of him or that he thinks that you come across as threatening.
Why is he shy around me but not others? If he is only shy around you then it would be likely that he is attracted to you assuming that he shows signs of attraction in his body language.
If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.