What does it mean when a guy acts different around you?

If a certain guy acts different around you then you might be wondering why and what it might mean about the way that he feels about you.

This post will show you a number of reasons why he might act different around you and why other guys might do the same in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy acts different around you? It could be a sign that he is attracted to you especially if he shows other signs of attraction around you. He might also be nervous, have something to hide, be annoyed with you or he might do it because he is not interested in you.

There are actually a number of reasons why he might act different around you and there are a number of things that you can consider when trying to understand why he might be doing it.

Why a guy will act different around you

Each of the different reasons why he might act different around you will likely come with a number of clues in the way that he does it and the body language that he shows.

Below, I will show you a number of reasons why a guy will act different around you, the signs to look for and the things to consider.

He is attracted to you

The reason that he does it might be that he is attracted to you. It could be that he doesn’t want to say something that you won’t like or he might be nervous that you will not like him back.

This would be more likely if he changes his body language and behavior when he sees you but there isn’t any reason for him not to like you.

If he is attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show some signs of attraction, when he is around you, such as:

• Keeping his focus on you when multiple people are talking
• Pointing his feet at you (people often point their feet at people that they are attracted to)
• Adjusting his appearance when he sees you
• Asking you the most questions when in a group with you
• Touching you a lot
• Looking in your direction a lot and smiling or quickly looking away when you notice
• Holding prolonged eye contact with you
• Talking to you with a deeper voice than he does with other people
• Standing closer to you than he does with other people
• Watching you and getting anxious when you are around other men
• Getting defensive when other men are with you both

There are more signs of attraction that a guy might show around you and I have written about more of them in this blog post.

He is nervous

The reason that he does it might be that he gets nervous around you. Other than being attracted to you, he might get nervous around you because you are in a higher position than him, you come across as threatening or he might just have some social anxiety.

If he does get nervous around you then it would be likely that he would show some signs of being nervous by doing things such as:

• Struggling to maintain eye contact
• Talking at a higher pitch, with you, than he does with other people
• Rubbing the face, arms, neck or legs a lot
• Getting a dry mouth
• Fidgeting a lot
• Laughing a lot at the things that you say

He is not attracted to you

It could be the case that he acts different around you because he is not attracted to you and he does not want to make you feel like he is.

This would be more likely if he started to act different around you, compared to how he interacts with other people, after you showed interest in him.

If he does do it because he is not interested in you then he might show distancing body language signs by doing things such as:

• Pointing his feet away from you
• Standing further away from you, when talking to you, than he does with other people
• Smiling at you with a closed mouth and not smiling beside the eyes
• Positioning himself not to be close to you
• Avoiding eye contact

He has something to hide

It might be the case that he has been acting different because he has something to hide.

This would be more likely if he started to act different around you suddenly and if he used to act normally around you. It would also be more likely if he started to do it after something could have happened that you would not like.

If he does do it because he has something to hide then it would be likely that he would show some signs of distancing body language such as those mentioned in the section above.

He is annoyed with you

He might also have started to act different around you because he is annoyed with you in some way.

This would be more likely if he suddenly started to act different around you after something happened that might have annoyed him.

If he is annoyed with you then he might show signs of it by doing things such as:

• Facing away from you
• Smiling with a closed mouth
• Distancing himself
• Tightening his lips
• Furrowing his eyebrows

Consider in what way he acts differently around you

When trying to understand why he acts different around you it would be helpful to consider when, where and how he acts different around you.

If he acts different around you, compared to how he interacts with his other friends, then it would suggest that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you. It would help to consider the type of body language that he shows around you and how he reacts to seeing you.

If he only seems to act differently around you when certain people are around you both then it could be that he doesn’t want them to see him with you or that he doesn’t want you to see him with them.

If he used to act a different way around you but he suddenly started to act different then it could be that he is annoyed with you, seeing someone else, he thinks that you are annoyed with him or something unrelated to you might be causing him to do it.

Consider how he reacts to seeing you

It would also help to consider the way that he reacts upon seeing you.

If he changes his body language and behavior, in a noticeable way, when he sees you then it would suggest that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you.

If he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

• Adjusting his appearance
• Adjusting his posture
• Facing towards you (especially with his feet)
• Moving closer to you
• Having more dilated pupils

Then it would suggest that he acts different around you because he likes you.

Whereas, if he reacts by doing things such as:

• Squinting
• Smiling with a closed mouth
• Tightening his lips
• Furrowing his eyebrows
• Facing away from you

Then it would be a more negative sign. However, be aware that he might quickly look or face away, when you look at him, because he doesn’t want you to see him looking at you. This means that if he quickly looks or faces away from you then it might not be that he is not interested in you and it could, in fact, be the opposite, that he is attracted to you especially if he glances at you multiple times.

Look for a number of body language clues

When considering what his body language might be suggesting it would help to consider multiple signs at the same time.

The reason for this is that a single body language sign can have many different possible meanings. This can make single body language signs less reliable on their own.

Whereas, if he shows a number of body language signs, that all suggest the same thing, then it would be more likely that he is showing them for that exact reason.