Just dress naturally. Some people might get intimidated if you try getting really dressed up around your crush. You want to act naturally and be yourself, not like you’re something you’re not. Focus more on clothes that help you feel confident. If you want to impress your crush, you’ll do it with your personality, not with your shirt. Make sure your clothes fit well, are clean, and make you feel good.

Breath strips act quickly and are easy to carry around in your pocket, so you don’t have to be chewing gum constantly while you’re trying to flirt. Check in the mirror after meals to make sure you don’t have anything stuck in your teeth. That could be embarrassing after the fact.

If you have acne problems, talk to your parents and your doctor about prescription solutions. There are lots of stronger medicated facial soaps out there to try. Don’t suffer in silence. Put some thought into your hair and basic grooming. You don’t need to be glammed up all the time, but don’t look like you just rolled out of bed.

Get to know them on social networking first. Reach out on Facebook or Twitter and become friends, or start following them on Instagram to get some sense of their sense of humor and style. Talk to mutual friends to find out things like whether or not your crush has a partner already, or whether or not your crush might be interested. It’s a lot easier to chat up someone who you think might like you.

Invite your crush to hang out with your friends, or just to sit with your friends at lunch. There doesn’t need to be a reason. Alternatively, you might feel more comfortable hanging out one-on-one. If you do, try to find reasons to hang out with your crush solo, even in a non-date type of situation. Just try sitting together on the bus, or working on homework together, or sitting together at lunch.

Talk more quietly, so everyone else needs to quiet down when you speak. Turn to your crush and lean in when you have something to say. Make it meaningful. It’ll be mysterious and personal. Your crush might be attracted to more flamboyant, loud, or chatty people, and that’s ok. That doesn’t mean you need to change who you are to attract them, or get to know them better.

This isn’t a sign that you’re crushing on someone, it’s just a sign that you’re nice. If you see someone you like, say hello.

Use open body language around your crush, keeping your shoulders back and your arms uncrossed. Don’t stare at someone you like. Catching someone’s eye and smiling is one thing, but gawking at someone you think is attractive during class will just come across as creepy.

Don’t worry too much about having really deep or interesting conversations. It’ll happen as you get to know someone better, which takes time. Nobody has great conversations at first. Give them a chance.

Don’t think too hard. If you live in the same town or go to the same school, you’ve automatically got a little in common. Talk about your neighborhood. Gossip about common friends. Complain about teachers. Online is a great way to find out simple things like this. If you know your crush watches a certain show that you like, talk about the last episode, or your favorite characters, or what you think is going to happen next.

Go with a little white lie if you need to: “Have you seen my math book over here? I just had it, and I can’t find it. Will you help me look?” Then chat while you try to find it. When you never can, say, “That’s ok, you’re so sweet for helping. I like talking to you!”

Don’t say, “Hey, how’s it going?” That’s a boring conversation to start. Instead, say, “I’m thinking of busting out of this prison. So far all I’ve got is a calculator and half a Snickers. What do you think? Can I count on you? You’re not going to tell the cops, right?” If your crush says something like, “You’re weird,” then you know they’re a boring or stuck-up person. Don’t waste your time getting to know people who don’t share your sense of humor.

If you see your crush put up a bunch of selfies on Facebook, tease them about them. “Ok, there are a lot of these, so I’m going to help you rate them one by one, in terms of what it looks like you’re thinking. This one says, “Oh, wow, my room smells like corn-dogs. "

“Say this is your last day on earth. Where do you go to first? What do you eat? What do you do? Who do you hang out with? What’s on the iPod?” It’s important to avoid prying or coming off like you’re insensitive. Don’t ask questions that are none of your business, like, “Your dad doesn’t look like he makes a lot of money, how is your family doing?”

If your crush mentioned a book, show, or movie last time that you were unfamiliar with, check it out and talk about it the next time you see each other. Be honest and offer your opinions.

Invite your crush to hang out with you on group events as well. Try to get your crush to hang out in a group with your friends, so it’ll be more comfortable and fun. Get to know your crush in a group. Find out what your crush likes, what your crush thinks is funny, and what your crush is like to be around. This can help make your conversations a lot more natural and fun. Lots of people talk about the “friend zone” being a bad idea for a potential date or relationship. If you like someone, it’s good to get to know them, every time. Don’t worry about befriending someone for a while before you get closer.