To Be Great at Ingratiating Yourself. . .

Here are some sure-fire tips for successful sucking up:

* Only say things you can deliver with feeling. The suck-up must be perceived as genuine, or you’ve just committed career suicide.

* Only suck up to someone a rung or two above you on the ladder. If you are, for instance, a low-ranking secretary waxing the company CEO, your motives will be too obvious to all.

* Less is more. Work the boss over with just one or two moves rather than an embarrassing barrage.

* Share the boss’ opinions and attitudes. The suck-upee will naturally admire your intelligence and perceptiveness because, says researcher Randall A. Gordon, “of course, the boss’ opinions are right.” (If pretending to hold a bogus opinion seems too difficult, consider a lobotomy.)

* But don’t agree too much. “A particularly disgusting and devious tactic is: Disagree with the boss on some unimportant issue, then let the boss persuade you,” says researcher Ronald Deluga. Or, use this sneaky move: “Express your [borrowed] opinions before the boss has a chance to express them,” Gordon counsels. “That way the boss says, ‘Wow, that person has a good head on his shoulders.’ ”

* Flattery will get you everything--almost. Deep down, we all love to be told how wonderful we are.

* The least effective tool? Favors. Doing bosses a favor, Gordon says, makes them “feel obligated to you, which makes them feel their freedom has been infringed upon.”