How to Foreplay: The Importance of Building Anticipation and Excitement

Why is Foreplay Important?

Building Anticipation and Excitement

One of the key benefits of foreplay is its ability to build excitement and anticipation for the act of intercourse. You may have noticed that when you’re looking forward to an event, it starts to hold a certain sense of novelty and enrichment. Similarly, this is how foreplay can start to act as a powerful tool to create heightened value for a sexual encounter.

Achieving a Powerful Climax

Whether you’re getting intimate with someone for the first time, or rekindling flames with your long-time partner, learning how to engage in foreplay enhances the sweetness of partnered play, making your climax more powerful. This is because foreplay increases sexual arousal, directing a stronger blood flow towards your genitals. As a bonus, this prepares your body for the rest of sex, which can make it less painful if it’s your first-time.

Connecting With Your Partner

Engaging in foreplay boosts emotional intimacy and forges unique moments of connection and understanding between you and your partner. With foreplay, you can figure out how to navigate your partner’s preferences and the level of intensity they prefer.

Becoming a Better Lover

Massaging and food play are types of foreplay that can help you explore your partner’s body and pinpoint particular spots where they like being touched and caressed. This goes a long way towards making you a more attentive and intentional lover.

Establishing Boundaries and Consent

While consent should be taken at each individual stage of any intimate exchange, foreplay provides the opportunity to understand areas of comfort and discomfort for your partner. If there are some acts or certain body parts you or your partner consider off-limits, this could be established during foreplay through subtle cues or verbal communication. 

Engaging in foreplay before sex also gives either partner the time and space to withdraw consent for intercourse in case they decide against it.

How to Get Started With Foreplay

Whether you’re a beginner to sex or are experienced in the bedroom, getting good at foreplay is primarily based on connection and patience. While there are many types of foreplay, these general how-to’s can help you get started.

• Ambience matters
  • Set the mood with candles and music to create a warm and welcoming environment that encourages intimacy. You can also invest in sex furniture for added comfort and positioning.
• Don’t fix a deadline
  • Instead, take your time getting to know your partner’s body and learning their desires. There’s no rush!
• Wear lingerie
  • Wearing sexy lingerie is another dimension of foreplay that can enhance its success.
• Try sex toys
  • Sex toys make it easier to tease and focus on your partner’s pleasure if you like to take things slow.
• Consider roleplaying
  • This is a great way to drop your inhibitions and live out your deepest fantasies.
• Massage your partner
  • This is a relaxing act that can help you explore your partner’s body with massage oils and lube.

In addition to these tips, building clear communication during foreplay is how to guarantee a more intimate and connected experience.

The Value of Clear and Consistent Communication

Although It’s a common misconception that talking can kill the mood, you may want to consider moving past grunts and moans to communicate with your partner and set the mood. When it comes to physical intimacy, talking to your partner and telling them how you feel can help set clear expectations and avoid discomfort. In many cases, hearing verbal confirmation of your partner’s pleasure can be a major turn on.

Simply put, if something feels good, let them know. If you want to try something sexy, communicate it and get consent before jumping into the act. If there are certain things you want done to you, tell them what and where feels good. It’s really that simple. Browse our sex advice blog for more tips on foreplay, and how to make sparks fly!