R Review From Scalp to Soles 103
He replies, “I’m a clerk,” but I notice that he has callused hands.
Should I believe him? When I meet someone who asks what I do, I
might say, “Consultant, author, speaker.” But my hands are cal-
lused, bruised, and it wouldn’t be uncommon for a broken bone to
show. Should you believe me? The meaning in both cases is that,
either the person is lying, or he does something in his spare time
that tears up his hands. I have my horses and Medieval battle
re-creations to blame, but a source in the battlefield could tell a
story to explain his calluses that may or may not be true. Good
questioning gets the story behind the body language, and it can give
you an edge in both business and personal relationships.
Grooming practices with hands become almost unconscious
because people tend to look at their hands more than other body
parts. I have a theory about this: Hands are the only tools we own
from birth. There may be no significant meaning at all associated
with pushing back the cuticles during a meeting, for example. If it is
a sign of anything, it probably means the person is a little bored
rather than stressed. If a person without well-groomed hands tries
to cover them up in your presence, that’s a sign she’s embarrassed,
or at the very least, feels insecure around you. Curling hands is a
similar sign.
When you see someone do something bizarre with his hands,
he may raise questions in your mind. If someone repeats a gesture
over and over, such as a secret signal that designates a member of
the notorious gang MS-13, for example, it stays with you in some
form. The Army had a number of unofficial hand signals, too, such as
this one: