Their face gives them away
Not everyone has a poker face – no matter how hard they might try.
"Annoyance may first appear in a person's face," says Dr. Michele Leno, a licensed psychologist and host of Mind Matters with Dr. Michele.
Subtle eye-rolling, a sudden blank expression or looking away while you're talking – these are all red flags that you're annoying someone.
"When someone is irritated, their nervous system activates a mild fight-or-flight response," Leno explained. "Micro-expressions – like an eye roll – are quick, unconscious ways the body tries to release tension."
In other words: even if they're still nodding politely, their face may already be telling you how they really feel.
They look at their phone
This one is pretty much universal. "When someone looks at their phone, it often shows boredom or annoyance," Samantha Whiten, a clinical psychologist, told HuffPost. "They're using a socially sanctioned way to get out of talking to you and hoping you take the hint."
In today's always connected culture, phones provide an easy escape. But when someone is genuinely interested in you, they stay engaged, and if they do get interrupted, they usually apologise and try to come back to the conversation.
If you continuously encounter someone gazing down at their phone when you open your mouth, chances are, you annoy them.
They sigh, fidget or take deep breaths
Those exaggerated inhales you heard from your co-worker when you started talking about your latest Netflix obsession? They're not random.
"We need to protect our well-being at all times," Leno said. So behaviours like deep breaths, fidgeting or shifting in place, she said, are all physical attempts to calm the nervous system and reset when tension is building, aka when you're annoying someone.
If someone suddenly starts sighing or picking at their fingernails while you're talking, it may be their body signalling overload.
They yawn – openly
Most adults can usually control their yawns. So when someone yawns right in front of you?
"Some part of them is hoping you'll notice and disengage," Whiten said. "If someone combines this with looking away or an unsmiling or quiet demeanour, it is best to conclude that you may be irritating or overwhelming them, and move to talk to another person."