How To Shake Hands

How to shake hands confidently, but neither cause pain nor come across as a wuss.

Step 1  

Lift your right arm and extend it toward the other person with your palm perpendicular to the floor and your thumb up.

Step 2  

If or when they proffer their hand, engage their hand completely with yours, so that the crotches of your hands touch.

Step 3  

Give their hand a gentle squeeze, simultaneously giving it one downward shake that travels about 3/4 inch.

Step 4  

Let go of their hand. Do not wipe your hand on your pants, even if their hand was sweaty.

Tips

• Pretend the other person's hand is a bird. Grip it hard enough so the bird can't move, but not so hard as to crush it.
• Don't forget the gentle squeeze part, or you will be giving a dead fish handshake.
• Make friendly eye contact. You should be thinking about how happy you are to meet the person or to see an old friend, your feelings should show in your eyes and be communicated with a sincere verbal greeting.
• Just one shake is sufficient, unless you live in a culture/country where longer pumping is the norm.
• Jock shake: starting the shake with the hand held far out to the side
• TV host shake: offering the hand palm up to the other person.
• Sissy shake: offering the hand palm down as though expecting the back of the hand to be kissed.
• 60's/Black Power shake (guys only): angling the fingers up and hooking thumbs.
• High Five: slapping the upraised ventral surface of the other person's hand.
• If your hands are sweaty, make sure to wipe them off somewhere appropriately (maybe on a napkin). Don't wipe your hands in front of the person of whom you're about to shake. That is a disturbing sight. Instead do it somewhere more seclusive, and then approach for the shake.
• Smile!

Warnings

• Unless you have arthritis or another impairment that makes shaking hands uncomfortable, do not grasp just the fingers of the other person's hand, failing to fully engage the palm. This will mark you as either cowardly or untrustworthy.
• As stated above, use only your right hand. Not only is it the proper and traditional hand with which to shake , but shaking with the left can be interpreted as disrespectful and/or unclean. Note: This does not apply if you are a Boy or Girl Scout, as it is tradition for scouts to greet each other with a left-handed shake.

Things You'll Need

• A clean, dry hand.