Elements of a Good Prank

Pranksters usually fall into one of two categories: Those that use other people’s ideas, and those that like to invent their own mischief. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing a good prank—some of my personal favorites have blossomed from stuff I’ve seen online or have been told by friends.

But for those of you that like to come up with your own, I thought I’d provide a few tips of the trade. There are three basic areas you need to concentrate on before testing out a newly invented prank.

First: what aspect of office life are you planning to affect with your prank? A few good basic ideas to start with are routine, comfort, and daily needs. The best office pranks cross over into several of these categories. For example, if you mess with some ones computer or car (which they use every day for work—it’s part of their routine) it would surprise them and throw them right out of their comfort zone.

The next thing you need to remember is the element of surprise. You always want your plan to be secret and the props for your prank to remain hidden. This is very important to the success of your over all prank. With enough calculation, you can catch anyone off guard.

Once you have a rough idea of your desired prank, there is one more aspect you need to think of: Does your prank over do it? To be more specific, does your prank destroy something, or does it cease to be funny and just cross the line?

These are very important things to think about while planning your prank. It’s essential to keep your prank in moderation. Trying to overdo it will most likely take a good prank and turn it into something completely out of line or inappropriate. And that defeats the entire purpose of a prank—which is to spread a little laughter.