Is It Just a Handshake?
How important is it anyway?
Your handshake makes an impression; make it a good one!
Never underestimate the importance of a handshake. Politicians practice to make sure their hand-to-hand contact conveys sincerity and strength. Heads of State stage greetings to create the “Shake of Power”. No International Meeting of heads of states begins until the handshaking and photographing is done.
Top people shake hands as if their reputation and fortune are resting on their handshake, and sometimes it does. Whether they shake hands in a friendly greeting or to begin or close a business meeting, top executives handshakes are not “wimpy”.
A handshake can convey a wealth of information about a person. A winning handshake conveys confidence and competence. It lets others know you can be trusted and you honor commitments.
A winning handshake is not a quick flick of the wrist and release (flea-flicker-shake).
The flea-flicker does not convey a good message. So get a grip on the situation and make a favorable impression, begin by:
* Focusing on the person you are greeting
* Smile
* Look the person in the eye
Reach out. Extend your hand to anyone with whom you are doing business – male or female.
Tips for Good Handshakes
1. Respect peoples’ space and distance.
2. Clasp palm to palm, not palm to finger. A palm-to-palm handshake is firm, controlled, and rarely described as “wimpy” or a “dead fish”. Women really benefit from this technique. By tilting their open palm upward at a slight angle so that it meets a man’s palm, they avoid having their fingers crushed by men with powerful grips.
3. Talk to the person whose hand you are shaking
4. Hold on for a split second longer then duty requires. (Not too long though!)
5. Be firm, but not forceful, try to match the other person’s grip, not outdo him or her.
6. If you wish to convey additional warmth, use both hands. (Place your free hand on the clasped hands or on the other person’s arm or shoulder.)
7. Briefly and purposefully pause as you retrieve your hand. Look the person in the eye and acknowledge them.
Shaking Hands with Someone You’re Meeting for the First Time
Volunteer your own name and listen well for the other person’s name – and remember it.
Most of us hear a person’s name the first time during a handshake. The trouble is you may be bit nervous and uncomfortable. We are distracted by our own discomfort, so we either don’t hear the person’s name or we immediately forget it. Here are a few tips to help you remember people’s names (it is important to do so):
* Relax; memory improves when you are relaxed.
* Immediately use the person’s name; use their name in the next comment you make to that person.
* If possible and appropriate, use their name again within a few minutes.
* At the first available opportunity, write the name down somewhere.
Like all actions that help you make a positive impact on others, handshakes take practice.
Learn to do it well and naturally. Handshakes convey too much for you to wimp out!
