55 Pranks That Are So Clever, You Can’t Even Be Mad At The Person Who Pulled Them

However, pranks can only work as a cheat code for your social life when you use them to actually learn how people work. You don’t need to be a social expert to start. Playing a prank can, in fact, be the best way to teach yourself those skills. It’s basically like on-the-job training in how to read the room.

To mess with someone in a good way, you first have to understand the spoken and unspoken rules of your group. And you have to know exactly where the line is.

Experts say this requires two main skills: active listening and empathy.

To plan a prank that actually lands, you have to spend more time listening than talking. You need to know your buddy’s personality inside and out. Being able to predict how they’ll react is the only way to make sure the joke stays lighthearted and doesn’t end up hurting feelings.

“Empathy is like a muscle. If you don’t use it regularly, or use it too much, it can atrophy. And we need empathy to be successful in all of our interactions — not just the funny ones,” says psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD.