Very good topic!
Nobody is perfect, but a good tickler should definitely be good at most of these disciplines
1. Good preparative communication: Make sure you know how far your lee wants to be taken, what areas should remain un-touched, what are the signs for a true desire to stop or slow down, etc
2. Good communication while tickling: always know how your victim is doing, know how close you are to his limits
3. Try to absolutely avoid any pain, inflicted by the restraints, your weight on the victim, or the tickling itself. Most people who like to be tickled do not at all like to experience pain.
4. Apply the right amount of pressure. Some spots on some people require very light touches only, whereas others tickle most when the pressure is just below the pain threshold. Sometimes it is the combination of light touches for a while, making your lee giggle with increasing intensity, and sudden bursts of more intense tickling with more pressure applied. Observe your ticklee well to know what works where.
5. Get into the head of your ticklee. Use your charisma to give them a hint that they are about to be tickled. If you have tickled your lee say at the hips a few times, they have laughed their guts out and maybe even screamed, so they know what you are able to do to them, give them an evil smile look at the spot, no need to talk, and you know you have won if they start laughing long beffore you even touch them
6. Have some dynamics in your tickling. "tickle me for hours non-stop" usually comes from long-time fantasizers who have actually never been tickled. If you can make your victim laugh and scream in a few minutes, take a break (or less intense tickling), then start over, you are more likely to give them a hard and a good time than if you go on non-stop. The body adapts to the tickling, so pausing and restarting might be more effective, but also more pleasurable, like a movie that has faster and slower parts rather than going on at the same speed until the end. Dont be boring!