We all need dating advice about rejecting someone. We’re all bound to run into this situation and it’s not an easy one to navigate. We’re always scared of hurting the guy’s feelings or making things awkward. Because of this, it’s easy to overthink things, especially when you’ve been talking to this person for a longer period of time or if you’ve gone out on a date. In order to prevent an awkward encounter, here are some tips on how you can tell the guy you’re talking to or the guy who slid into your Instagram DMs that you’re just not interested in them. 

When You’ve Just Started Talking To Him

Keep Conversations Short

If you haven’t been talking or seeing this guy for that long or simply don’t want to address the situation up front, you can drop some hints in your conversations with this easy to follow dating advice. If you stay engaged in a conversation, the guy is more likely to think you are interested in him. If you start giving him short, close-ended responses can help drop the hint that you might want to move on. However, this might not always be the best strategy, for instance, if the guy doesn’t catch the hint and still keeps the conversation going. In this case, you might want to opt for a different strategy.

Ghosting

If you’ve been talking with a guy for not too long, you can simply just stop responding. Although it might not be the most polite or respectful way to drop the hint, this piece of dating advice does guarantee that you’ll stop talking to him. If you want to be blunt about it, you can just stop responding in the middle of a conversation. However, a more respectful approach is to ease out of the conversation and slowly take longer and longer to respond. 

When You’ve Been Talking For A While

Try Telling Him Over Text

If you’ve gone on one or two dates with this guy or your first date has been long anticipated, it might be best to just send a quick text instead of having a long, drawn out conversation in person. If you’re opting for this dating advice, make sure you are extremely clear that you’re not interested and briefly mention the reason why. Don’t draw out the text longer than it needs to be, keep it short and sweet, and make sure your message isn’t confusing.

Try Having A Conversation In Person

If you’ve been talking to this guy for a long time and have gone on a couple of dates with them but you just don’t see it working out, a good piece of dating advice would be to tell them in person. While this might be the most awkward method, it’s by far the most respectful, especially if there was any emotional attachment involved. Make sure you know what you want to say and make sure your message is concise. Don’t drag out the rejection, especially if you’re doing it in person.

Be Polite And Respectful

When you’re being rejected, it can really hurt sometimes. When you’re figuring out exactly what to say, make sure that you are honest but not too honest. You don’t have to go into heavy detail about why you are no longer interested in them, as that could make the rejection hurt even more. A good way to approach it is to frame your message around you and why you aren’t feeling it. This makes it seem less like a flaw or an issue with him, which could make the rejection less awkward or hurtful. Overall, make sure your message is true to how you feel.

Don’t Bounce Around The Rejection

When telling a guy you’re not interested in him, it’s best to cut straight to the chase. Being confusing and dancing around the point you want to make could cause the rejection to be more hurtful or awkward than you anticipated it to be for both you and him. While getting straight to the point could be scary or awkward for you, in the end it makes more a much smoother conversation for both parties.

See Also

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Give Them A Few Compliments

When someone is rejecting you, it can feel like a dish on you personally, or that perhaps something is wrong with you. If you are telling a guy you’re not interested in him anymore, perhaps throw in a few compliments to soften the blow of the rejection. 

If You’ve Started Seeing Someone Else

If you’re rejecting a guy because you’ve started talking to or seeing someone else, be upfront about it. This could be a great message to go with when rejecting someone as it doesn’t make the rejection about them. It also provides you with an explanation that doesn’t require you to go into depth, which will make the preparation for the conversation much easier, whether it be over text or in person.

If You’re Looking For Anything Long Term

If it seems like the guy you’re talking to wants things to get more serious and you’re not feeling it, you can communicate with him that it does not seem like you both are on the same page. This can be another message that can ease the pain or awkwardness of the rejection as it doesn’t put the rejection on the other person. 

Don’t Friend-Zone Him

One of the most annoying questions to get when you’re being rejected is to still be friends with the person who’s rejecting you. If you still want to be friends with the person, a piece of dating advice to follow is don’t bring it up mid-rejection. Friendzoning someone never feels great, but if you want to explore that friendship, give it some time. If you were talking to that person for a long time and emotions were involved, friendzoning could be one of the worst moves to make. Save the friendship talk for later on.

Rejecting someone you’ve been talking to or care about can be an awkward situation no matter how you approach it. Hopefully these tips can help ease the pain of any rejection and you can part ways with this person on a more positive note.