The four hinting styles women use to let men know what they want

With Christmas coming up, most men are facing a lot of stress trying to find the perfect gift for their better half, and a study has suggested listening to the four hinting styles women use, will definitely help.

Experts have been able to identify four hinting styles women use when they want something from their partner, but men seem oblivious to them, with four out of five missing the hints altogether.

The study, which was commissioned by Boots, broke down what it has dubbed as "adventising".

It revealed that most women (56 percent) were found to be "pepper-hinters" or "present pointers", followed by "Chinese whisperers" and "careless listers".

But despite all these tactics, less than a third of men picked up any of the subliminal messages - compared with more than half of women.

Body language expert Professor Geoff Beattie advises women to use heavy verbal tips to their partners to get what they want.

"Hinting is an important part of everyday social interaction but to do this successfully it is vital that gender differences are taken into account," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

"Women know what they want and are increasingly turning to 'adventising' in order to get it - using clues to advertise to men what they want for Christmas.

"However, their covert suggestions can at times fall on deaf ears and men are missing out on a massive two thirds of crucial hints dropped by the ladies in their life," he added.