Honestly this is why I started just telling people when I'm crushing on them.

The worst thing that has ever happened as a result was that they were flattered but did not return the feelings. And honestly? Knowing that helped me move on and stay friends with those people.

I am very much a flirt by nature and this just takes out all the guesswork hahaha. Now, TO BE FAIR, I am a woman and very, uh, let's just say i get called "cute" and "adorable" a lot, I don't wanna toot my own horn too much here, but my point is that I am non-threatening. This tactic may not be taken as well coming from a man, but I think it also heavily depends on existing rapport (or lack thereof) with the person of interest.