March 31, 2011

Body Language - How a Handshake Is More Than Just a Handshake

There is more than one way to communicate, body language is the ability to communicate what you're thinking and feeling through conscious and unconscious body signals, and has become a serious study for many individuals. Body language experts are used by politicians, business men, etc. both personally and to help during negotiations. Some actors will even study body language and incorporate the appropriate body signals into their acting to create a more realistic character.
Body language consists of small gestures that your body unconsciously makes when undergoing various emotions or actions. Lets take a seemingly small and everyday action like handshaking. Handshaking is a form of greeting or thank you, but how you approach a handshake can show how you view yourself in relation to the other person, or how that person views you. For example someone who thinks he's superior to you will often offer you his hand first with his palm facing down, forcing you into taking a palms up, submissive approach to the handshake. Handshakes with palms facing each other (as opposed to up or down) show a sign of equality.
If someone gives you a superior handshake you have several options, accept the handshake or turn the handshake around to a position of equality. If your boss is giving you a superior handshake, it's better to accept the handshake, showing him a sign of respect than trying to turn the handshake around. If you're a sales person being given a superior handshake than it is more important to turn the handshake around, making the individual more receptive to what you are saying. There are two ways to change a superior handshake into an equal handshake. The first way is to step into the superior handshake, this will give you the opportunity to turn the hand as you step forward. Another technique is to do a dual handed handshake, allowing you to take their hand and forcefully turn it into a position of equality.

While executive men are more likely to use a superior handshake than executive women, women are better decoding the subtle language that is body language. This is probably why women are have "intuitions" or "hunches" about others that usually appear correct. This ability in women is attributed to women's maternal instincts, and their ability to decipher the needs of their newborn children. Women's natural ability to decipher body language clues also makes her better at lying. If more people honed their body language skills, they can become powerful negotiators and assessors of others.

Reference: Catherine_Gray

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