How to Ask a Best Friend if They Like You

The movies and television shows make it look so easy. You fall in love with your best friend, tell him or her and you end up living happily ever after like Ross and Rachel on “Friends.” In real life though things aren’t always this easy. You might tell your friend how you feel only to have them not reciprocate, which could make things a bit awkward going forward. If you’re ready to ask a best friend if they like you, get a little courage and hope for the best.

Instructions

1. Hope for the best, but prepare yourself for the worst. Your best friend might tell you that they’ve been interested in you for awhile or they might tell you that you’ll never be anything more than just a buddy to them. Make sure you can handle it if they tell you they aren’t interested.

2. Rehearse what you’re going to say and even write it out on paper so you can think about all the words and how they go together. Go through everything you’ve said and think about how you’d feel if someone told you that. You might even ask your friends to listen to your small speech and tell you what they think.

3. Give your friend a call if you know or think that you can’t handle having the conversation in person. This way you can’t see their face when you ask, but you can still hear their reaction. It also gives you the chance to work up to the question because you can talk about other things first.

4. Ask your friends for advice before you take the big question to your best friend. Friends have a way of seeing and hearing things that you don’t. While you’re worrying about asking your friend how they feel, your friend might be worrying about whether you like them.

5. Meet your best friend in a quiet and neutral location where you can talk about your feelings and get everything out into the open. The last thing you want is someone else to walk up in the middle of the conversation and start talking about a new song.

Tips & Warnings

• Stay calm, cool and collected. The less nervous you look and feel, the more confidence you will project.

• Tell your friend that you have something you need to talk to him or her about in private, but make sure they know it isn’t anything bad. This way they’ll know something important is going on and not make plans to bring along someone else.

• Don’t even think about telling your friend how you feel if they’re involved with someone else. The grand romantic gesture only works in romantic comedies.

• Don’t ask the question in a text message. You may think he or she is avoiding you when you don’t get a response, but they might not have gotten the message in the first place.