What handshake mean?I. In one’s own country,1. In some

What handshake means?
    Today we’ll talk about the meaning of handshake.
    Grasping another’s hand with a power grip is a worldwide means of expressing congratulations, contractual agreement, farewell, and greeting. The handshake is European in origin, although many cultures touch hands and other body parts with the hand(s) to greet family members and fellow tribesmen. These socio-emotional touch cues developed from tactile signs originally used in mammalian grooming and childcare. Think about how you greet someone for the first time in your own country, in your own culture. When you’re introduced to a stranger, do you shake hands with him or her? Perhaps it isn’t the custom to touch each other. Instead, you may simply bow to each other, or make no gesture at all.
    You know what to do in your own country, but what about when you go overseas for study or business? I’ve met many students who told me they were sometimes confused about these things in the first weeks after arriving here in Australia. And that’s why I’ve been asked to give this talk today.
    Let’s look at the act of shaking hands—what I’m about to say applies mainly to men. When you’re introduced to someone in a formal situation, it’s quite common, too. Shaking hands is the most accepted way of touching someone you don’t know (and the idea of touching them is in itself important). If you don’t shake someone’s hand when they are clearly expecting it, the message you are sending not interested in them. So, fellows, I advise you to shake hands here, even if you don’t normally do so in your own country.
    If you think that simply shaking hands is enough, though, then you’d better listen to what I have to say next. How you shake hands is almost as important as the act itself. How you shake hands tells the other person a lot about you. It’s true, and especially so of men!
    Here’s what I mean. A limp or weak handshake by a man has the same meaning as no handshake at all. The message is: "I’m not very interested in you." Think about this, because I know that some of you may come from cultures that accept limp handshakes as normal. Here, even if you don’t intend to, you may send the wrong message.
    Is the best way, then, to use all your muscles and crush—and possibly hurt—the other person’s hand? Man-to-man handshakes in Australia are sometimes like this. The message behind this kind of handshake is aggressiveness and a desire to compete. Unless you specifically want to communicate these feelings to the other person, you don’t have to shake hands with all your strength. One more type of male handshake that can send the wrong message is the half handshake. Here, only the front half of the fingers is offered to the other person’s hand. The message is that you have little confidence, that you’re shy. "I’m not a strong or courageous person, "That’s what a half handshake says".
    Let’s look now at how it is for women. Until recently, women in Australia felt no great need to shake hands during introductions. That’s changed as more and more women are working in business, government and academia. The way that women used to shake hands with men was to give only half the hand—that is, the fingers only. This gave little impression or message, at least to men. Nowadays, women are having to learn again how to shake hands. Now, women are beginning to offer all of the hand—the fingers and palm. The other person’s hand is held and shaken firmly but not too hard. This communicates to the other person more of a feeling of competence or strength than the old-fashioned way of doing it.
    How long should you shake hands? That’s right: the length of time you shake hands also says something about you. If a man lets go of the other person’s hand too quickly, what kind of message do you think that sends? Releasing your hand quite soon indicates that you don’t want to get too involved or you’re not very interested in the other person. That goes for both women and men. However, it’s both more acceptable and more common for two men to shake hands for a longer time, even as long as six or seven seconds. The message in this case is "I like you" and generally indicates that the two men think they’ll get on well.
    Finally, what do you do with your eyes when you are shaking a stranger’s hand? In this society at least, you should look at the other person straight in the eyes. If you look elsewhere, like looking down or to the side, this sends a negative message to the other person. The other person may think you are being arrogant, that your action says I am better than you." Another unpleasant message that comes across when there is no eye contact is: "You don’t exist" or "I don’t recognize your existence."
    To sum up, there really is quite a lot to consider when shaking hands in this culture. As silly as it may sound, practicing handshaking, say with a friend, may be a good way to become confident so that the next time you need to introduce yourself in a formal setting here in Australia, you’ll feel comfortable knowing you did it the right way.