Hands
· Hiding your hands sends a message that you cannot be trusted or that you have something to hide. Do not hide your hands, place them in your pockets or hold them behind you.
· Open palms convey innocence.
· Positioning your hands like a steeple shows a confident, superior or authoritative attitude.
· Closed hands are a sign of anger, as are clenched fists.
· Pointing of the index finger indicates discomfort when answering a question.
· Hands clasped behind the back communicates frustration.
· Rubbing hands together shows anticipation.
· Hand to cheek communicates evaluation and thinking.
· Sitting with hands clasped behind the head with legs crossed shows confidence and superiority.
Handshake
People use the handshake to judge how sincere and confident someone is and if they want to do business with that person.
Handshakes are a sign of trust and help build strong relationships. People want to feel your interest in meeting them, and the handshake sets the tone of the interaction.
· Keep hands perpendicular to the ground.
· The palms interlocking signify openness, sincerity and oneness.
· As you approach someone, extend your arm slightly across your chest with your thumb pointing up.
· Use a firm, but not too firm, grip.
· Shake and give two to three pumps.
· Maintain eye contact for about four seconds to demonstrate trust and smile.
· Always remember when greeting someone to repeat his or her name several times.
Avoid these handshakes and what they say about you:
· The dead-fish handshake—conveys no power or interest
· Will not let go handshake—seems endless
· The four fingers handshake—shows weakness
· Death grip handshake—causes pain
· Hand-twist handshake—forces one person’s hand to be subservient to the other
For information on keynotes and workshops call: 215-948-2705 or Sara@asuitablesolution.com
Next week: Dress to Influence