Calling an ex or expecting your ex to call you is tricky. You are dying to just hear their voice again and still you do not want to seem desperate, needy, or worse, psychotic!

How can you get an ex to return your calls? Well, according to TW Jackson, author of The Magic of Making Up, pleading, stalking or faking an emergency rarely works and it certainly could make matters worse. In fact, it could get you arrested! However, you might try using vanity and human psychology to your advantage.

“Two of the more powerful forces in the human mind are curiosity and self-interest,” explains Jackson. “When you leave a message that pleads or declares an emergency you set up a negative expectation. Their subconscious associates the returning call to be unpleasant.”

If you try to ensure your ex that the return call will be a pleasant experience and he or she may even benefit from it you greatly improve the chances that you will hear the phone ring soon.