Sometimes you might find yourself leading someone on and this might not be your intention. This can be caused by your friendliness and jovial attitude. Now what happens when someone starts thinking that your friendly attitude means you are interested? You need to find a way to stop leading them on but you might have a little trouble knowing how to stop leading someone on. This article will provide us with the necessary strategy on how to stop leading someone on.
How to stop leading someone on
1. Tell them how you truly feel
The best way to stop leading someone on is to be clear about your intention. This means you have to communicate your true feelings to them. If you don’t intend to get into anything serious with them, you need to let them know, and the best way to do that is by telling them about your feelings. If you are thinking about how to communicate your feelings and be clear about your intention,. The best way to do it is by following the steps listed below:
- Telling them through a text message
Sometimes some people might not have the confidence to look up to someone to tell them about their feelings this might be because they are afraid of what the person’s reaction would be. If this is you, there is someone you are leading, but confronting them and telling them how you feel seems to be a difficult task. Sending them a text isn’t a bad idea. Just make sure you are polite in your approach
- Take responsibility and apologize to them
When you are trying to clarify your intention to someone, make sure you apologize to them for leading them on. Let them know how sorry you are and that you never intend to send the the wrong impression. Let them know it’s not their fault that they feel that way or misinterpreted you.
2. Avoid engaging in activities that could be termed romantic or intimate
If you really want to stop leading people on, you must learn to limit or avoid any romantic or intimate activities with them. This is how to stop leading people on, because when you continue to engage in these activities, they might think you are into them or maybe you want a relationship with them.
Some of the romantic and intimate activities to avoid include prolonged physical touch, pecking them, hugging and other romantic activities. These activities can cause false signals and make other people believe that there is a deep connection when there is none.
3. Don’t spend time with them alone
How to stop leading people on is by avoiding spending a lot of time alone with people who you don’t intend to have a romantic interest with. Spending a lot of time with people alone can give them the wrong impression. They can think that there is a romantic interest when you start spending too much time with them. You need to set a boundary, If you need to spend time with them, make sure that there are other people around.
4. Stop giving them excessive compliments and attention
If there is someone you think you are leading on and you don’t know how to stop leading people on. One thing you can do to stop leading people on is to stop giving compliments and attention to people you are not interested in. When you start complimenting people a lot, maybe you are always complimenting their looks, their dress, the way they talk, e.t.c When it becomes too much, they might have a feeling that you are interested in them, especially if they have asked you out before.
Giving people too much compliments and attention makes them feel like they are special and maybe you are interested in them. It’s only normal for them to think this way because don’t we all compliment the things and people we like. But if you don’t want your compliments and actions to be misunderstood for romantic interest, you need to stop giving them if you want to stop leading people on.
5. Don’t make plans that imply future commitment with them
There is a limit to the kind of conversation or the kind of plan you make with someone with whom you are not in a relationship. Avoid having any form of conversation or plan that implies future commitment. Doing this may give them false hope. Don’t act committed or start planning your future together with them if you know you don’t want anything serious with them. Keep your conversation casual and make sure you don’t send mixed signal. This is how to stop leading people on.
6. When someone express interest, don’t be silent about your lack of romantic feelings
When someone asks you out, be expressive about your feelings and honest about it. Keeping quiet when the opposite sex expresses his or her interest to you might send mixed signal. Especially when you continue to give attention to them. They might take your silence as a sign of interest, giving them hope where there is none.
7. Encourage them to pursue other romantic interest
Do you know that the moment you tell someone to pursue other romantic interests, they know you are not interested in them ? Yes, that’s how to stop leading people on. If you have no intention of having a committed relationship with someone, telling them to look for other people they like is a good way to let them know that you are not interested in them.
8. Don’t rely on them for emotional support
The reason why some people lead others on is because they care about their feelings alone. They don’t think about how their actions affect other people. Getting emotional support from someone you are not interested in is wrong because when these people start giving you their time and attention, they can end up having strong feelings for you. You might end up hurting them when they find out that the feeling is not mutual. If they are not people you are interested in, don’t rely on them for emotional support.
9. Let them know you are in a relationship
Telling people about your relationship and commitment to others is one of the ways you can stop leading people on. You can let them know about your partner and how committed you are to them. Doing this will not raise their hope or cause any mixed feelings because they are already aware of your relationship status.
10. Stop using pet names for them
Pet names are not only used for the people we are romantically engaged with; sometimes we give pet names to our friends too. However, when it comes to someone of the opposite gender who seems to have interest in you, it’s advisable that you don’t use pet names for them. Calling them pet names such as Darling, Dear, Babe, etc. can make them feel like you are genuinely interested in them. It’s better to call them by their names so that you don’t give the wrong impression.
11. Reduce communication with them
You can reduce communication with them if you have to do so. You don’t have to stop talking to them. All you need to do is reduce the way you talk to them. It is possible for the opposite sex you talk to every day to develop feelings for you. Especially If you are always flirting with them during your conversation or if you are always seeking their advice about romantic feelings,. In this kind of situation, how to stop leading people on is to reduce your communication with them. Limit the way you talk to them. Let your conversation with hem be casual and on a light note.
Conclusion
It’s easy to lead people on through your action towards them, especially if they are people who have expressed their interest in you earlier. You need to be cautious of how you behave around someone of the opposite sex who is interested in having a relationship with you so that you don’t give them mixed signal or false hope.
