Body Language For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 9

Letting Your Hands Do the Talking

In This Chapter

Discovering how hand positions indicate attitudes

Making your fingers do the talking

Feeling for different handshakes

Displacement activities

Scientific research shows that more nerve connections exist between the hands and the brain than between any other parts of the body. Unconsciously, your hands reveal your attitude towards another person, place or situation. By the way you position your hands, rub your palms and fiddle with your fingers, you’re telling anyone who’s paying attention what you’re really thinking, feeling, and intending.

Watch how your hands move spontaneously in greetings, farewells and as you cement an agreement. Before you know it, your hands illustrate a point you’re making and are effective in demonstrating both your sincerity and your annoyance. Whether you’re expressing love, anger, joy or frustration, your hands hold the message.

In this chapter, you discover how you can use your hands to support the spoken word and add substance to your message. You find out how to position your hands to convey authority ...