What does it mean when a guy pokes you?

If you have noticed that a guy has been poking you, you’re probably wondering why he does it.

This post will help you figure out why a guy might poke you and help you to make sense of it as it happens in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy pokes you? It might mean that he likes you especially if he only does it to you and he does it repeatedly and on multiple occasions. He might also be teasing you, doing it as a power-play or mirroring you.

Since there are a number of reasons why a guy will poke you it’s important to consider the context of how he does it and the body language that he shows around you.

Reasons why a guy will poke you

Each of the different reasons why a guy will poke 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 poke you and the body language signals that you should expect to see with them.

He’s attracted to you

If it is only you that he pokes and his body language changes in a positive way when he is around you then it would be likely that it’s a sign of attraction.

If he does poke you due to being attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show attraction to you in other ways by doing things such as:

• Standing close to you when talking to you
• Holding prolonged eye contact with you
• Touching you more than others
• Making plans based on yours
• Having more dilated pupils than usual when around you
• Always pointing his feet in your direction
• Asking you more questions than his other friends
• Talking to you with a deeper voice than normal
• Being anxious when you’re talking to other men
• Looking at your lips when talking to you

He wants to be more than just friends

If he has been your friend for a while then the reason that he pokes you could be that he wants to be more than just friends with you.

If that is the case then it would be likely that, in addition to poking you, he would show other signs of attraction that you haven’t picked up on.

It would be especially like that he would get defensive when other men are around, make plans based on yours and that he would get anxious when you’re talking to other men.

It would also be likely that he would show some signs of nervousness around you since he hasn’t overtly told you that he’s attracted to you yet.

He wants to see how you’ll react

It could be the case that he is attracted to you but he is unsure if you are attracted to him so he poked you to see how you would react.

If that is the case then it would, again, be likely that he would show signs of being attracted to you when he is around you.

He’s being dominant

When a guy is trying to assert himself as the dominant member of a group he’ll often touch the other members of the group.

The reason that he poked you might be because of dominant behavior.

If that is why he did it then it would be more likely that it was a firm poke, that he was telling you to do something and that he would have done it in front of other people.

If he did poke you due to being dominant then it would be likely that he would show other signs of it such as:

• Touching other people in the group
• Taking up lots of space
• Standing in people’s personal space
• Standing in a way that makes his body appear to be larger
• Holding prolonged eye contact with people
• Squinting when looking at people
• Having tight lips when people are talking
• Having a tight jaw when someone else is talking
• Tightening the eyebrows when looking at people

He’s mirroring you

When a guy is trying to fit in with the people around him he will often mirror their behavior since it will help him to be accepted as a part of their group.

If you both hang out with the same people and they tend to poke each other then it could be a sign that he’s mirroring the group’s behavior.

If he was then it would be likely that he would also mirror other behaviors of you and other members of the group in ways such as:

• Walking in a similar way
• Showing similar facial gestures
• Smiling in a similar way
• Showing similar hand gestures
• Standing or sitting with a similar stance
• Speaking at a similar pitch

Consider your relationship with him

When trying to figure out why he poked you it would be helpful to think about what your relationship with him is like.

If you have been friends with him for a while then it would be likely that he was showing that he is attracted to you. It would still be necessary to see other signs of attraction to confirm it. He might also have been trying to get a reaction out of you in a playful way.

If it was a guy that you haven’t met before then the reason that he did it could be that he was showing attraction to you, that he was showing dominant behavior or that he was doing both. It would be necessary to consider how he was interacting with other’s and his body language to figure out the exact reason.

Consider the location that he did it in

Thinking about the location that you were in would likely help you in figuring out why he did it.

If he did it while you were both alone together then it would be much more likely that it was a sign of attraction to you.

Whereas, if he did it in an environment where other people were watching then it would be more likely to have been dominating behavior especially if they were people that you both know. It could also have been that he was showing attraction to you so you should consider the body language signals that he was showing.

Think about his normal behavior

When trying to figure out why he poked you it would help to be aware of how he normally behaves around other people.

If you notice that he tends to poke other people and his body language doesn’t change much when he notices you then it would be more likely that he did it due to mirroring the group or dominating behavior. It would be necessary to consider how other members of the group interact with each other and his body language to figure out the exact reason.

If he doesn’t do it to other people and he does change his body language around you then it would be more likely that he does it due to attraction.

Look for multiple body language signals

When trying to understand why he poked you it would be helpful to look for multiple body language signs that all point towards the same meaning.

The reason for that is the there are often multiple different reasons that a guy will show a single body language signal.

Whereas, if he shows multiple signs that all can have the same meaning then it would be much more likely that it is why he is actually showing them.

Related

What does it mean if a guy pokes you in the stomach? If a guy pokes you in the stomach then it would likely have been a sign of attraction and you should expect to see other signs of attraction in his body language when around you. However, it might have been a different reason depending on the context.

What does it mean if a guy pokes you in the ribs? If a guy pokes you in the ribs then it would be more likely to have been due to either attraction, dominant behavior or both. It would be necessary to consider his body language around you to figure out exactly why.