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Maybe your current boo told you to up your game (ouch). Maybe you’ve always harbored sneaking suspicions that you’re subpar in the sack. Or maybe you just want to join the Greats.

Regardless, you’re here because you think you’re bad in bed — or at the very least, could be better.

Well, we’ve got some good news: It’s actually not possible to be bad in bed. Really!

That said, itis可能需要一个对你的沟通技巧upgrade. Or for your sex life to need a little zhuzhing up. This guide can help on both fronts.

Got an FWB coming over in 30 minutes and want tips stat? Or planning to get your flirt (and freak) on at the bar tonight? These tips are for you.

Listen to your partner’s verbal and non-verbal cues

Carly S., pleasure expert and founder ofDildo or Dildon’t, says there’s one caveat to the “It’s not possible to be bad in bed” thesis statement.

“If you’re completely ignoring your partner’s attempts to communicate with you, and steamrolling them into doing whatever you want, you’re a bad lover,” she says. TBH, at this point, you’re not having sex with your partner — you’reviolating them.

Your move: Tune into what your partner is saying with their words, mouths, hands, and body.

“Are they pulling you closer? Or are they pushing you away?” asksMegan Stubbs, EdD, a clinical sexologist and author of“Playing Without a Partner: A Singles’ Guide to Sex, Dating, and Happiness”.

“Are they shifting their hips away from you, or toward you?”

These body cues can give you insight into what they like and don’t like.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

“Your partner isn’t a mind-reader,” Stubbs says. “For them to know what you do and don’t like, you have to tell them.”

For the record, she says, communicating can be as simple as saying:

  • “That feels good! How does it feel for you?”
  • “Yes! That!”
  • “A little more pressure, please!”
  • “Is your tongue getting tired?”
  • “Can you do that thing you were doing earlier instead?”

Check your ego at the door

If your ego is telling you, “If they needlube, it’s because they don’t like you” or “If they want avibrator, it’s because you’re inadequate,” tell your ego to shut up.

“Sex toys and sexual wellness aids are inanimate objects that are designed to increase how pleasurable the sexual encounter is,” Carly says.

So, she says, if your partner expresses an interest in bringing those into the bedroom, your first thought shouldn’t be “I’m not good enough.” It should be “Wow! My partner wants to experience pleasure with me.”

Before we talk about the trees, let’s talk about the forest…

Confidence

“Confidence is a work in progress for everybody — but it’s work worth doing especially, if you want to be a better lover,” Carly says.

Confidence, she says, is key to asking for what you want in bed, graciously receiving feedback from your partner, and more.

To build up confidence, she suggests:

  1. repeating a self-love mantra to yourself every morning
  2. curating your digital spaces and unfollowing people who make you question your worth
  3. writing a list of thingsyou like about yourselfevery week
  4. leaving a partner who puts you down
  5. tryingtherapy

Communication

Sensing a common theme?

“[Communication] should be happening before, during, and after sex,” Stubbs says.

Before sex, talk about:

During sex, talk about:

  • how it feels physically
  • what you’re feeling emotionally or spiritually
  • what you need to feel safe
  • if or when you want it to end

After sex, talk about:

  • how it felt emotionally and physically
  • if it’s something you want to do again
  • what you need in this exact moment (water, food, blankets, etc.)

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm, as defined byMerriam-Webster, is a strong excitement of feeling.

In other words, it’s the antithesis of apathy.

And who the heck wants to get it on with someone who’s acting *shrug emoji* about having sex with them? Specific kinks aside,veryfew pleasure seekers do.

Some ways to express enthusiasm during sex:

  • Tell them you like how they look, smell, taste, or feel.
  • Compliment them.
  • Verbally and nonverbally affirm what feels good.

Want to give your new boo the Hozier treatment? (That’s aBetter Lovereference). Keep these tips in mind.

Don’t fake your orgasm

Faking your orgasm is the opposite of communicating what you want in bed, according to Stubbs. “Faking orgasms positively reinforces bad technique,” she says.

Ifyou’ve been faking itup to this point, you could have an open and honest conversation. You might, for example, consider saying:

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you emotionally and physically. But, before we continue having sex, I want to be transparent about the fact that I’ve been faking my orgasms. It isn’t that the sex hasn’t felt good — it has! — but I’ve been too shy to ask for what I need to orgasm. Do you think next time it would be OK if I touched my clit during sex?”

Another option is to stop faking your orgasm, and start helping your partner bring you to orgasm.

Masturbate

Now that you’re getting laid, you might be tempted to let yoursolo sexlife fall by the wayside.

Don’t!

“Having a masturbation practice makes it easier for you to know what you like sexually and easier to communicate that to your partner,” Carly says. In other words, solo sex might lend itself to better partnered sex.

There are ways to be a better lover to your new(ish) partner.

Begin talking about sex more

Specifically: When you’re fully clothed.

“Talking about sex outside the bedroom automatically makes it a lower stakes conversation,” Carly says. “Because of that, it can become easier for people to talk about theirfantasies, desires, likes, dislikes, and more.”

You might do this by:

  • asking your partner if they find a sex scene on the screen hot
  • inviting your partner to help you pick out underwear
  • 一起观看一个性感的音乐视频
  • telling your partner when you feel randomly aroused
  • sharing your sex dreams with your partner

Make a yes/no/maybe list together

Whether you and your partner see yourselves as being sexually adventurous, or not, Stubbs recommends spending an evening filling out a yes/no/maybe list (likethis oneorthis one).

“Doing so will give you both an opportunity to talk about your desires openly,” she says, “which is something good lovers give their partner’s space to do.”

Take an online sex workshop together

Who says pandemic-friendly date nights are limited to take-out, Netflix, and physically distanced walks?

Try attending an online workshop together about sex, kink, or intimacy.

You might say:

  • “Hey, are you free Saturday night? I found a fun Zoom event about [X]. I thought it could be fun!”
  • “我要参加这个在线研讨会我发现on Thursday. Any interest in attending with me? It’s going to be all about [X], which is something I want to learn more about!”

To find an event, you can search the #queersexeducator, #sexeducator, and #sexworkshop hashtags on Instagram and Twitter.

Want to be here for a long timeanda good time (in bed)? Try these:

Start a book club with your partner(s)

“Reading a book about sex with your partner can help give you language for things in your sex life you want to talk about, but didn’t previously have the language for,” Stubbs says. “It’s also fun and can give you some new ideas.”

Some books you might read together:

Listen to a podcast about sex with your partner

Don’t have the patience to sit down and scan 300 pages? Put on a sex podcast during the next long drive with your boo.

Some sex podcasts to look into:

Scroll through an online sex shop together

Or, when physical distancing rules allow, go to one together IRL.

“Seeing whichtoysyour partner wants to click on will tell you a lot about their interests and intrigues,” Stubbs says. “For example, maybe this is when you learn your partner is curious aboutanal playbecause they wanted to look at one of the butt plugs on the site.”

That one caveat withstanding, being bad in bed may not be possible.

But it doesn’t mean that improving your communication skills, learning to express your enthusiasm, working on your self-confidence and ego, and adding new “sextivities” to your repertoire can’t make you a better lover — they all can.

Don’t take our word for it. Try ’em out yourself. The proof will be in thepuddingpleasure.

Gabrielle Kassel is a New York-based sex and wellness writer and CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. She’s become a morning person, tested over 200 vibrators, and eaten, drunk, and brushed with charcoal — all in the name of journalism. In her free time, she can be found reading self-help books and romance novels, bench-pressing, or pole dancing. Follow her onInstagram.