How to Interpret Innuendo

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of interpersonal communication is understanding the subtle innuendo that often filters into it. Heightening your sense of comprehension in the art of subtlety is a key to greater success in all areas of communication. Follow these steps to help you interpret innuendo.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Pay attention to non-verbal clues. If a person is trying to communicate interest in you, he will show signs of it in the length of eye contact and also the positioning of his body. So, if you are unclear as to whether a subtle piece of innuendo is meant to be flirtatious, look at the non-verbal cues.
2. Be carefully schooled in the art of punning and subtle innuendo. For example, a woman might say, "It is very hot in here today." Ask yourself about the timing of that comment. If she says it right when you sit down beside her, it might be innuendo that says she likes you. If she says, "It is very stuffy in hear," when you start being long-winded about something, she may be signaling innuendo of a different kind.
3. Watch the number of silences in the conversation. Innuendo is always going to be subtle and used by artists in communication to tell you things you otherwise might not hear. If a man says, for example, that he is so hungry and then his eyes happen to fixate on your lips and silence follows, you can be relatively sure, he is telling you something with innuendo.
4. Expect the unexpected. Innuendo is not going to follow set rules or rigid structures. An element is surprise is usually involved. If you are at a party and your hostess turns to you and says, "When in Rome...," as she offers you a glass, she is clearly trying to say something. Perhaps you need to loosen up? Or perhaps you need to enjoy yourself more?
5. Value the rich possibilities for insight when interpreting innuendo. For example, if you are spending time with a man who regularly refers to his amnesia regarding details of his past, you may deduce certain tendencies in this man to claim ignorance about his mistakes.