Body Language and their Influence on Handshakes
Do you know how many seconds it takes a person to form an impression of you?
It usually takes the person from 5 to 10 seconds to form an impression of you. I’m sure you wonder how you can leave a positive impression in this concise period of time!!
Actually, more than one thing that can be controlled takes place in this short period of time, and as you may have already guessed, one of these things is the handshake.
I am Stronger than You
Why do you think you experience fear while watching a horror movie even though you’re perfectly safe at home? That’s simply because your subconscious mind follows some primitive rules in its operation. So it may incorrectly interpret an external stimulus as a threat even if there was no real danger.
Now let’s go back to the handshake; when you firmly hold the other person’s hand during the handshake, his subconscious mind will think that you are stronger and more confident than him!!
So by making sure that your handshake is firm without exerting extra unneeded pressure, you will be leaving the impression that you are a confident person.
Follow My Command
Have you ever noticed how some people position their palms horizontally instead of vertically while shaking hands with their friends?
We have two cases here:
1) The first is when the palm is parallel and facing the floor
2) The second is when the palm is facing the sky.
The first gesture reflects the desire to dominate, while the other one represents a state of submission. The person who positions his palm so that it faces the ground while shaking hands will usually be doing so because of his unconscious desire to dominate the other person. On the other hand, positioning the palm so that it faces the sky usually reflects the state of being submissive to the other person.
What if Someone Wants to Control Me?
So what if someone tries to shake hands with you with his palms facing the ground?
Hold his palm and firmly return it to the vertical position. By doing so, you will be sending an indirect message to his subconscious mind telling him: “Sorry, but I’m not the kind of person whom you can control.”
