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Have you ever caught someone staring at you and wondered, “What are they looking at?” Perhaps compliments about your appearance also tend to surprise you. The truth is, many of us don’t fully realize how attractive we are to others. We tend to focus on our insecurities, overlooking the little clues that we might be more appealing than we give ourselves credit for.
A 2017 review published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that attraction is a multisensory experience and found that while visual appeal is a highly significant factor, we also use other senses to gauge a person’s attractiveness and our long-term compatibility with them.
Here are two subtle, sensory signals that you’re more attractive than you realize, based on the review.
1. People Are Drawn to Your Voice
While you might not give much thought to your voice, others often notice its unique qualities. If they seem to enjoy listening to you speak or compliment your voice, it’s likely an indicator that they find you more attractive than you realize.
“Vocal cues allow others to make relatively accurate judgments about, for example, another person’s sex, age, dominance, cooperativeness, emotional state, physical strength, body size and actual fertility,” the researchers explain.
In fact, research on adolescents shows that as they grow older and show interest in dating, girls begin to prefer vocal cues such as a lower-pitched male voice, while boys tend to find higher-pitched female voices more attractive.
Additionally, your voice also conveys emotional warmth, empathy, and trustworthiness. Tone, pitch, and rhythm all contribute to the emotional connection people feel when listening to you. This might explain why some people seem more comfortable around you, open up to you easily, or are drawn to you in social settings.
2. Romantic Partners Love Your Natural Scent
Scent, often a subconscious element in attraction, plays a powerful role in how we connect with others.
“The amount of information one can gauge about a person solely from her or his scent is impressive. For example, humans can use olfactory cues present in body odor to assess sex, personality including dominance, fertility, diet, genetic compatibility, health status and age,” the researchers explain.
A 2021 review also suggests that smelling pleasant, either naturally or by using fragrances, can also enhance our own self-confidence, which makes us more attractive to others.
“Visual and vocal characteristics are likely to be more important early on, whereas odor requires closer and more intimate physical contact. Potential mates may utilize physical appearance as a first-pass screen, while smell potentially imparts additional information during subsequent inspection,” the researchers write, highlighting how the different senses determine attraction at different stages of a relationship.
Researchers also suggest that having an appealing face along with an attractive voice or smell can enhance overall perceptions of attractiveness. However, even without visual cues, a pleasant voice or appealing scent can still leave a positive and lasting impression.
Ultimately, attraction is far more complex than we assume. It’s important to remember that while factors outside our control may spark initial attraction, our connections only endure because of who we are and how we choose to treat others.
It’s nice to know that we may naturally be more attractive than we realize, but the real appeal lies in nurturing who you are on the inside. Authenticity, kindness, and emotional warmth leave the longest-lasting impression of all. So, embrace the beauty others see in you, but remember that it’s your heart that makes you truly unforgettable.
A version of this post also appears on Forbes.com.