How to Eavesdrop Without Getting Caught

Although it may be entertaining to eavesdrop on your brothers and sisters when they talk to your parents or their friends, it's never fun when they get you in trouble for invading their privacy. Remember these methods to listen in without giving yourself away after the fact.

Instructions

1. Find a spot to eavesdrop where you would logically be in case one of the people you're listening to suddenly walks out of the room. It's more natural for you to be standing near a bookshelf looking for a book or browsing in the kitchen pantry, for example, than hunching under coffee table.

2. Resist the urge to tell someone else what you heard when you were eavesdropping, no matter how "juicy" the gossip is. If the person you tell lets the secret slip, it will be obvious who the source of the information was.

3. Be careful not to act on anything you've overheard. For example, your family will catch you if you complain to your mom about the raise in your sister's allowance if they were the only two people to talk about it or if you start planning for an upcoming trip that only your parents were discussing.

4. Try not to let anything you hear affect how you treat the people you were eavesdropping on. Remember that there's a reason why they're speaking in private. For instance, if you overhear your brother discussing his personal school problems with your parents and then you suspiciously start treating him sympathetically, they'll probably deduce that you were eavesdropping.

Tips & Warnings

• Contain your emotions as you listen in on a conversation. Laughing aloud at something said or protesting a statement that a sibling makes about you, for example, will definitely give your covert position away.