Make her pull you.....

It's time she made the first move for a change. Whoever she is, make her beg

The fit girl in the gym
Stop trying to lift the stack to impress her. "If you pump weights so hard that your eyes pop out of your head, she'll see your sex face and run scared'," says behavioural expert Judi James. "Instead, take the treadmill next to hers, shoot her a few sideways glances and, after a while, suggest becoming running mates. Arranging an early-morning jog gives her the perfect excuse to call you late at night." Next stop: horizontal jogging.

Your still-sexy girlfriend
Tease her snatch reflex. "In a regretful tone, say, ‘The problem is I can't imagine finding anyone who compares to you,'" suggests James. "Then wrong-foot her cynicism by subtly telling her about another girl who's trying to push you into a relationship. She'll rush in to take back what she thinks is rightfully hers before the ‘other' girl gets her wicked way."

The friend-of-a-friend
Okay, it's playground stuff, but think back to how easy it was to get girls to show you their knickers then. Girls love being matchmakers for friends. "The trick is to motivate your go-between," explains body language expert Susan Quilliam. "Tell them you fancy this girl, and you love women who aren't afraid to take the lead. The matchmaker will pass it on and tell the girl to call you." Kiss-chase is bound to ensue.

Your cute colleague
This is Cyrano de Bergerac for the Noughties, hopefully without the enormous hooter. "Establish an e-flirtation, so you're in a habit of swapping smart one-liners," says James. "After a few weeks, when you moan about your hangover from Hades, her nursing instinct will kick in and she'll suggest a lunchtime fry-up to ease your pain." Or maybe even a hair of the dog – in which case you can share your next hangover.

A supermarket seductress
Waitrose might not be as fertile a hunting ground as a Wetherspoon's – but it's better quality. "Hook her at the checkout by chatting about the pain of queuing," suggests Quilliam. "The best time to go is 7-9pm as this is when single girls will be picking up something for dinner." Make it you, rather than a microwaved cauliflower cheese. "As you help her carry her bags out of the shop, she can suggest buying you a drink to say thanks."

Your flirtatious friend
You've been "just good friends" for ages. It's time to stop exchanging flirty banter and start exchanging bodily fluids. "Move out of the friend zone by looking into her eyes when you laugh," says James. "Make her empowered by confessing you're too shy to ask a woman out. Then mention a film you'd love to see, and trail off. It will seem natural for her to say, ‘We should go together.'" Hole in the popcorn? Bingo.

The beauty at the bar
"Start with eye contact – lots of it," says Quilliam. "Then go up and start a conversation. At the end of the night, start to say one last thing, then pause and look at her expectantly, gently touching her waist. It's the ultimate signal that you want her to say something, so instinctively she'll ask to meet up again." Like at the taxi queue in five minutes.