Most of what people communicate never makes it into words. Bodies leak: where someone stands, how fast they answer, whether they angle toward you or toward the exit. None of it is proof, but it is early information, and it usually arrives before anyone is ready to admit anything out loud.

Practice reading it without deciding you already know. When a friend gives you one word answers, treat it as a question rather than a verdict, and ask later when nobody else is around. Watch yourself too, because you are sending the same signals to everyone in the room.