If you have recently noticed a guy looking at your lips when you talk you’re probably wondering why and what it means.

This post will try to help you to figure out why a guy might look at your lips when you talk and to make sense of it as it happens in the future.

So, why would a guy look at your lips when you’re talking? Possible causes of a guy looking at your lips while talking are that he is thinking of kissing you, he is trying to understand what you’re saying better, that he is nervous or that he is mirroring your own body language. 

Since there are actually a number of reasons why a guy might look at your lips when you’re talking it’s important to consider the body language that he is showing.

By doing so you will be able to get a better idea of the motivations behind why he does it.

Possible reasons a guy will look at your lips while you talk

Each of the different reasons why a guy might look at your lips while you are talking are likely to come with a number of different body language signals.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy might look at your lips while you are talking and the body language signals to look for.

He wants to kiss you

One possible reason that a guy might look at your lips while you are talking is that he wants to kiss you.

If he is thinking of kissing you then it would be likely that he would show a number of other signals of attraction in his body language.

These can include:

  • Pointing his feet at you when in front of you and when he’s in the same room as you
  • Pointing his toes up when talking to you
  • Adjusting his shirt, tie, hair, etc when he sees you
  • Touching you more than others
  • Standing close to you when talking to you and staying in your general area when not
  • Talking to you more than other people in the group
  • Asking your friends about you
  • Showing signs of nervousness when talking to you (mentioned below)
  • Holding eye contact with you for longer than usual (known as mutual gazing)
  • Talking with a deeper voice when talking to you
  • Having dilated pupils when talking to you

Obviously, this would be more likely to be the reason if you are dating him but it could still be the case if it is your first time meeting him. If it is the first time then it would be necessary for you to observe a number of the other attraction signals to be sure.

He wants to understand what you’re saying

It could just be the case that he is trying to understand what you are saying to him.

This would be more likely the case if you’re both in a noisy environment if he isn’t a native speaker of your language or if he has some degree of deafness.

If this is why he looks at your lips when you talk then it would be less likely that he would show a number of the signals of attraction. He would be less likely to hold his gaze with you, to adjust himself when he sees you, to touch and talk to you more or to ask your friends about you or to stand close.

He likes the look of them

It could simply be the case that he finds your lips interesting.

If you are wearing lipstick or if you have a piercing there then it would make it more likely.

If this is why he looks at your lips when talking then it would be likely that his body language would otherwise appear neutral to you unless he is also your friend.

He’s nervous

When people are nervous they will often struggle to maintain eye contact and will often look downwards.

If this is the reason that he looks at your lips when talking to you then it would likely be the case that he shows other signs of nervousness in his body language.

These can include:

  • Frequently blinking
  • Rubbing the eyes, nose, upper legs, ears, neck or arms
  • Touching the front of the neck
  • Speaking at a higher pitch
  • Speaking with an upward inflection (his voice goes high pitched at the end of sentences)
  • Foot and finger tapping
  • Fidgeting
  • Nervous laughs where they don’t crease beside the eyes

If you notice that his feet are also pointing towards the exit then it would suggest that he is thinking of leaving. Whereas, if he points them towards you, when talking to you, then it would suggest that he is attracted to you but he gets nervous around you.

He’s mirroring your own behavior

When people are trying to get accepted by a certain group of people they will often mirror their body language and their behavior.

This could be why he tends to look at your lips if you also have a tendency to look at his lips yourself.

If he is mirroring looking at the lips then he would likely mirror other behaviors of yours such as:

  • Your walk
  • The pitch that you speak at
  • The speed that you speak at
  • Your touches
  • Your stance (ie hands on hips, legs crossed, etc)
  • Your facial gestures such as how you laugh, smile and stare
  • Your hand gestures

If he is mirroring you then it could be a signal of attraction but you would need to see a number of the other attraction signals to be sure. It might be the case that you are a part of a group of people that he subconsciously is trying to fit in with.

Consider the environment

When trying to figure out why he might be looking at your lips it would be helpful to consider the environment that it happens in.

If it happens in a loud environment such as at a party then it could be that he is trying to understand what you are saying but he might also be attracted to you. This is why it’s important to consider his body language signals.

If it was in a business setting then it could be that they were nervous when talking to you this would be more likely if he’s in a lower position to you or if it was in an interview.

Think about the guy doing it

It would be helpful to consider the relationship that you have with the guy when trying to figure out why he did it.

If it was your friend then it would make it less likely that it was due to nervousness but it could be that he was trying to understand what you were saying or he might actually find you attractive.

If it was a coworker then he might get intimidated when talking to you assuming he also shows signals of nervousness. He might also have been trying to understand what you were saying.

If it was a guy that you have never met before then he might have found you attractive but he also might have been looking at your lipstick or he might have had some social anxiety.

Think about when he does it

The timing of when he looks at your lips is also likely to help you to understand why he does it.

If he tends to look at your lips as soon as he sees you then it would make it more likely that he finds your lips interesting or that he has a habit of looking at people’s lips when he sees them.

If it was after already having been talking to you for a while then it could be that he is thinking of kissing you or it might just be the case that he is trying to understand what you are saying better.

Related

Why does he look at my lips and eyes? If he tends to stare at your lips and he tends to hold his gaze with you for extended periods then it would suggest that he finds you attractive. He might also have a hard time understanding what you’re saying so it’s important to consider other body language signals that he shows.

Why does my boss stare at my lips? It could be that he finds you attractive but he would also show things such as pupil dilation, touching you often, talking to you more than others. adjusting his shirt, hair, tie, etc when he sees you and he would likely point his feet in your direction as well. He might also want to understand what you’re saying better or he might have a problem with the lipstick that you wear.

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.