Tuning is the early flirting and casual messaging stage where two people gauge mutual interest before dating.
Tuning is slang, common in British dating talk, for the flirty back-and-forth that happens before a relationship actually begins. Two people are testing the waters to see if there is genuine interest on both sides.
It looks like playful texting, light teasing, and feeling out whether the other person feels the same spark. Nothing is official, and no one has said anything serious, but something is clearly starting to build between them.
The stage overlaps with what others call the talking stage. It can easily stall if both people keep things vague and neither one is willing to make a clear move toward more.
If tuning has gone on for a while with no progress, naming your interest moves things forward. A direct nudge toward a real date almost always beats lingering for weeks in endless, undefined flirty limbo.