Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands
Handshakes matter. They are an important part of our business (and personal) life. Getting it wrong can create awkward moments and distract from making a good first impression.
Getting your handshake wrong is a sure-fire way of not making a good first impression.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #1
The sweaty slip
Some people have a natural tendency to get sweaty hands and many get them when they are nervous, that’s normal. It can make shaking hands tricky in stressful situations such as job interviews. There is no excuse for a wet handshake. Simply dry them on a piece of clothing before shaking someone’s hand.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #2
The limp fish
Not gripping the other person’s hand firm enough and then shaking from your wrist is a big mistake, because the messages that may be receive about the other person doing that include: ‘I am not confident’ or ‘I am a push-over’.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #3
The pinch
When someone pinches your fingers with their fingers. This is maybe something the Queen does, but has no place in real life. This half-hearted handshake sends signals like ‘I am not bothered about shaking your hands properly’ or ‘I don’t think you deserve a proper handshake’.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #4
The hand-holder
The person shaking your hand keeps holding on and thinks he’s actually holding hands rather than shaking hands. After anything more than 3 shakes, natural instinct will be to pull hand back and say ‘let go, why are we holding hands now?’ The mind is then preoccupied with forcing not to pull hand away, which means no longer concentrating on the introduction or anything being said.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #5
The avoider
Someone that doesn’t make eye contact when they shake your hand or someone that pulls their hand away too quickly. This again signals that they are either under-confident, very shy, or they don’t really want to meet or shake hands.
Six Ways NOT To Shake Hands #6
The crushing gripper
When you shake someone’s hand and it feels like they are crushing every single bone in your hand. A hand shake that is too firm will make anyone feel uncomfortable. It makes you think ‘is the person trying to hurt me on purpose?’ and triggers a natural ‘I need to run away’ instinct.
All of these show that the person shaking hand is lacking basic social skills and emotional intelligence. It might be that people are not really aware of how they are shaking hands. The good news is, you can change it from today.
A handshake should be made with:
a confident attitude,
where you stand up with good posture,
where you smile,
where your hands interlink at the web of your hands (the part between your thumb and your index finder),
where there is a firm grip (not too limp, and not too strong),
where you make eye contact throughout,
where you shake 2 or 3 times from your elbow,
and then let go,
done!
Regards
Christine
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