As American sitcoms like Friends and How I Met Your Mother have shown us time and again, flirting is a skill – an art form – that can come in very handy.

However, not everyone is born with Joey Tribbiani’s charm or Barney Stinson’s smooth-talking skills.

Since flirting, unsurprisingly, does not come naturally to many people the video above by Casually Explained breaks the process down for novices.

Flirting is a great way to approach someone you like in a non-threatening and fun way, as the video says. If you see someone attractive whom you do not know, the first step is to introduce yourself. So far, so good. Then, move onto some kind of physical contact. It could be something simple – and non-intrusive – like touching the person’s elbow when you say something they find smart or funny.

Take some of the video’s advice with a pinch of salt, however, and unlike Barney Stinson be honest and genuine – the How I Met Your Mother character was notorious for wooing women through deception. Because if you do meet the right person, you want to get off on the right foot.