Member Article

What does your handshake say about you?

Handshaking has been the quintessential greeting among humans for thousands of years, regularly being used to seal business deals, introduce yourself to strangers and acknowledge others despite language barriers: it is the universal greeting.

Despite it’s potential reverence however it can also say a lot about you as a person.

Research carried out by business matchmaking platform, Trade.Love has revealed that something as simple as the handshake can reveal a lot about a persons character and greatly affect the successes and failures of a business deal.

The survey carried out during the month of August questioned 2,000 professionals about the worst handshakes they have received in a business environment and why. The results were then correlated by Trade.Love, with further research being commissioned into the body language and the psychology behind it.

Ismahan Ahmed, director of Trade.Love added “People often make fleeting judgements about others. A handshake is one of the ways we do this, it is definitively used as a source of making an impression“

More than half of the respondents said that shaking hands with someone with sweaty palms is the worst type of handshake to receive as it indicates that the person is experiencing discomfort and nervousness in the current situation. More importantly, many drew comfort from the fact that the other party was uneasy, resulting in them being able to take a more authoritative and controlled stance.

31% also commented on the ’lazy handshake’. One that feels tepid and more of a chore than a greeting. This suggests the person is untrustworthy/ unreliable and has lead to many professionals bailing on deals simply because they feel the other party ‘just doesn’t seem interested enough’.

7% of respondents said that they feel an aggressively firm handshake is a sign of overcompensation and tends to suggest the other person is simply putting on a show, simply talking the talk so to speak.

So with an average business professional shaking around 25,000 hands in a lifetime, making sure you get it right is paramount. Whether its with a stranger, friends, at an interview or a business meeting, the first time you shake hands will and can leave a lasting impression.

Ismahan also goes on to explain some of the characteristics of a well executed handshake - “It should be approached with your right hand, a firm squeeze(not too strong), approximately three to four shakes with a dry palm, clear eye contact accompanies with a friendly smile“.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Tether .