How to Impress Your Friends

Co-authored by Kirsten Parker, MFA and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: January 16, 2023 References

Your friends are the people you hang out with and look toward having a good time. You may feel some pressure to impress them to prove that you are cool and likable. While your friends should never judge you for who you are, you can impress them by gathering fun facts in your daily life and performing simple party tricks with your own body. Try not to brag or show-off your knowledge and skills to keep having a good time with your friends.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Performing Easy Party Tricks

1
Keep a friend sitting down with your pointer finger. Have a friend sit down in a chair. Make them cross their arms in front of their chest so their hands are on their shoulders. Place your pointer finger on the middle of their forehead and tell them to stand up without moving their arms. Watch as your friend tries to stand!^{[1]
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- Your friend won’t be able to stand up because of the awkward position of their arms.
2
Levitate your arms by holding them in a doorway first. Stand in the middle of an open doorway. Press the back of your hands against either side of the doorframe and push against it with all of your strength for 30 seconds. Walk away from the doorframe and let your arms raise up on their own.^{[2]
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- Your arms will raise up without you consciously moving them because your muscles are still locked from pushing against the door frame.
Tip: Have your friends try this on themselves to be even more impressed.

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3
Place your hands on your head and challenge a friend to move them. Put both of your hands on top of your head with the palms down and elbows out to the side and bent. Keep your fingers locked together and hold your head firmly. No one will be able to dislodge your hands from your head no matter how strong they are. You must remain still for this trick to work.^{[3]
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- This trick works because of the position of your hands as well as your interlocked fingers.
4
Get your friends to pull your hands apart from your chest. Bend both elbows and place both palms on your chest with your fingertips touching and forearms parallel to the ground. Challenge anyone to pull your hands apart by holding your wrist. Ask them to pull steadily and not to give a sudden jerk. It will be impossible to pull your arms apart.^{[4]
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- You could ask small children to follow your lead for a greater effect.
5
Get a group of friends to levitate you by working together. Sit down in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Get 4 of your friends to put their hands together, interlocking their fingers, keeping their index fingers together but pointed outwards in the shape of a gun. Have 2 of your friends put their pointed fingers under your arms and the other 2 volunteers under your knees. Tell your friends to lift up at the same time.^{[5]
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- This trick works because your weight is spread out between the 4 of your friends. Even if they couldn’t lift you on their own, they can lift you together.
6
Keep your arms locked and have people lift you up by your elbows. Ask 2 people to lift you by your elbows. At first, keep your arms loose from your shoulders down. Your friends will find it extremely difficult to budge you. Next, keep your elbows pressed tightly to your side and your arms rigid against your body. Lifting you is much easier with your elbows in and arms rigid.^{[6]
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- You can ask more people to try to lift you with your arms lose to prove how difficult it is to lift you up. Your friends will be impressed with how easy it is to lift you once you have your elbows in and arms rigid.

Method 2

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Doing Simple Magic Tricks

1
Make it look like you’ve bitten an apple and then restore it. Buy 2 apples from your lunchroom or the store. Cut a bite-sized piece out of 1 of the apples, but leave the other apple intact. Place the fleshy part of the bite-sized piece onto the whole apple to make it look like there is a bite taken out of it. Pretend like you’ve bitten the apple and show off your “bite mark.” Then, move your hand and quickly remove the bite-sized piece of apple. This makes it look like you restored the apple back to its original shape!^{[7]
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- Make sure your friends don’t see you setting up this trick.
2
Convince your friends you’ve made crayons disappear by cutting them in half. Buy a small box of crayons that has a hole in the front to display the colors. Take all of the crayons out and tape them together side by side. Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut all of the crayons in half. Place the crayons back in the box and hold them up so they peak through the display hole. Wave your hand in front of the box and let the crayons drop below the display hole. This makes it look like the crayons have disappeared.^{[9]
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- The crayons will be harder to use once they are cut in half, so don’t use a box of crayons that you need later.
3
Switch a bottle cap between your hands by hiding it in your fingers. Find 2 of the exact same bottle caps. Place 1 underneath your left hand on the table, but don’t let your friends see it. Place the other bottle cap in your right hand and show it to your friends. Close your hands into fists and turn them upside down. Quickly set the bottle cap in your right hand down on the table and pick up the other bottle cap in your left hand. Pick your hands back up and show off how you switched the bottle cap.^{[10]
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Tip: Distract your friends by talking to them so they don’t see what your hands are doing.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Showing Off Your Talents

1
Tell your friends fun, random facts. You might know a few random facts that don’t really have to do with your daily life, like how many days it took to build the Empire State Building. Impress your friends by pulling out your fun facts during a trivia game or when they come up in conversation.^{[11]
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- An example of a fun fact might be: “the Empire State Building was built in 410 days.”
- If you don’t know any fun facts, download an app like Curiosity or StumbleUpon to be sent a new fact every day.
- Make sure the facts you tell your friends are truthful.
2
Show off your dance moves on the dance floor. Everyone likes the person who can whip out a few great moves at a party. Impress your friends by learning a few simple dance moves, like the two steps, the running man, and the moonwalk and performing them at dances and parties.^{[12]
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- The most important part of showing off your dance moves is having fun!
- Invite your friends to join in your dance party to include them.
3
Become a great story-teller. Impress your friends by engaging them with fun, exciting stories from your past. Keep your story simple and try to highlight a struggle or an annoying even that happened. Talk about how you moved past it and emphasize the funny antics that happened.^{[13]
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Harvard Business Review
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- You could tell a story about a trip you just took, a time you almost missed an exam but made it there just in time, or a silly moment from your childhood.
- You can impress your friends by doing something adventurous.^{[14]
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- If you are scared to take risks, think about the worst things that can happen because of your move.
- Prepare to deal with them in advance.
4
Practice puzzles and riddles to solve them quickly. Knowing the answer to a riddle, solving a Rubik’s cube, or completing a maze are all pretty impressive feats. Pick a puzzle that you’d like to become good at and practice it until you are an expert. Study riddles and learn how they are worded to solve them easily.^{[15]
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- Most puzzles just take practice, but anyone can become an expert in them.
Tip: Riddles are often worded very literally. As you read them, take away any metaphors or similes that you see to have a better chance at solving them.

Community Q&A
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Question

What if my friend calls me ugly and says I'm the worst at everything?

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This person doesn't sound like a friend at all! Don't listen to what this person has to say. If you want to salvage the friendship, consider talking to them about how their words make you feel and ask them to stop. Otherwise, try to spend less time with this person and seek out new friends who support you.
Question

I like a boy but he doesn't know, and all my friends say I should tell him but I don't know how. Any suggestions?

Community Answer

It depends on how you feel about this boy. If you are really into him, like head over heels, then it's probably best to tell him in person. However, at the same time you need to prepare for the good and bad. The good being he might accept your feelings and the bad is he might not feel the same way as you do. Also, you should confess only when you feel that you want to.
Question

How do I know if someone likes me?

Community Answer

They probably act differently around you compared to others. They may also treat you differently, like sharing personal information or interacting with you more often.