According to a research study by the Kinsey Institute in the US, 92 per cent of women who received 20 minutes or more of foreplay reached orgasm. But ascribing a time limit to such an important exercise is a sure way to sell yourself short in the love stakes.

Slow, deliberate and dramatic teasing will get her revved up well before the gear comes off, guaranteeing some great sightseeing of her wild side. Take these tips from The Big Bang by Emma Taylor and Lorelei Sharkey:

PLANT THE SEED. Destroy your lover’s concentration at work by making them dream about sex all day: send lusty e-mails and text messages, leave voice-mail messages stating your entirely dishonourable intentions for later that evening.

LEAVE YOUR COAT ON, stay a while. Ripping her clothes off immediately is sexy, but not every time. Tease her (and yourself) by touching over the clothes, opening one button at a time, slipping your hand inside her shirt or under her skirt. If and when the clothes do come off, make sure the socks come off as well. Always.

BE UNPREDICTABLE. The places you think you should attend to first (or really want to) are the ones you should leave for later.

Rather focus on parts of your lover that don’t usually get touched in polite company: insides of the thighs, hips, arch of the foot, ribs, bellybutton, back of the knee.