If a certain guy has been acting shy around you then you might be wondering why and what it might mean about the way that he feels about you.

In this post, I will show you a number of reasons why he might act shy around you and why other guys might do the same in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy acts shy around you? It could be a sign that he likes you especially if he only does it with you and he shows other shows signs of attraction around you. He might also have some social anxiety, think you don’t like him, have something to hide or he might act that way naturally.

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

Why a guy will act shy around you

Each of the different reasons why a guy will act shy 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 shy around you, the signs to look for and the things to consider.

He is attracted to you

The reason that he acts shy around you could be that he is attracted to you and he doesn’t want to say something that you won’t like or he is nervous that you won’t like him.

This would be more likely if he only seems to act shy around you and not around other people as well and if he shows different body language around you compared to when he is around other people.

  • 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 acts shy around you might be that he has some social anxiety.

This would be more likely if he seems to act shyer when other people are around, he acts shy around other people and if he shows similar body language around other people as with you.

If he does do it because he has some social anxiety then it would be likely that he would show some signs of being nervous 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 thinks that you don’t like him

The reason that he acts shy around you might be that he thinks that you do not like him.

He would be more likely to think that if he showed interest in you in the past but you didn’t reciprocate, you tend to get annoyed around him or if you have argued with him in the past.

He is not interested in you

It might be the case that he gets shy because he doesn’t want you to think that he is interested in you.

This would be more likely if he started to act shy around you after you showed interest in him and if he only seems to act shy around you.

If he does do it because he doesn’t want you to think that he is attracted to you then he would likely show distancing body language 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 doesn’t want you to find out about something.

This would be more likely if he was acting shy in a certain situation and if he doesn’t normally act shy. It would also be more likely if he was showing different body language signs than he normally would.

He does it naturally

It might be the case that he acts that way naturally.

This would be more likely if he also acts the same way around other people and if he also shows the same body language around them.

If he does seem to do it naturally then it could still be the case that he is attracted to you. If he is then it would be likely that he would show some signs of attraction when he is around you.

Consider the way that he reacts upon seeing you

When trying to understand why he acts shy around you and how he feels about you it would help to consider the way he reacts upon seeing you.

If he changes his body language and behavior, when he notices you, then it would make it more likely that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you.

If he reacts 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 make it more likely that he is attracted to you.

Whereas, if he reacts to seeing you by doing thing 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.

Consider when and where he was acting shy

The timing of when he acted shy would also be something to consider.

If he doesn’t always act shy and he was acting shy when certain people were around then it could be the case that he was acting shy because of them. It could be that he doesn’t like them or possibly that he doesn’t want them to see him with you or you to see him with them.

Whereas, if he always seems to act shy then it could be that he is attracted to you, he has some social anxiety or he might do it naturally. It would help to consider the way that he reacts to seeing you and how he changes his body language around you.

Consider how he interacts with other people

It would also help to compare the way that he interacts with you with how he interacts with other people.

If he also acts shy with other people and he shows the same body language around them then it would be a lot more likely that he has some social anxiety or he does it naturally.

Whereas, if he only acts shy with you and his body language is different around you then it would make it more likely that he is attracted to you assuming that he changes his body language in a way that shows attraction.

Look for a number of body language signs

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

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

On the other hand, if he shows numerous signs that all suggest the same thing then it would be more likely that he is showing them for that particular reason.

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.

Author

I created and currently manage Body Language Central, one of the premier sources for body language-related knowledge. Body language plays a key role in our daily lives. I hope that my website can help condense the wide amount of body language information available and allow you to make full use of it in your daily life. You can read more about me and my website here.