The Definitive Book of Body Languagelibrary offered. Those who had been touched responded more
favourably to all questions asked and were more likely to recall
the name of the librarian. Studies conducted in British super,
markets where customers are lightly touched on the hand
when they received their change show similar positive cus-
tomer reactions. The same experiment has also been
conducted in the USA with waitresses who derive much of
their income from customer tips. The elbow-and-hand touch-
ing waitresses made 36% more tips from male diners than
non-touching waitresses and male waiters increased their
earnings by 22% regardless of which sex they touched.
When you next meet someone new and you shake hands,
extend your left arm, give a light touch on their elbow or hand
as you shake, repeat their name to confirm you heard it cor-
rectly, and watch their reaction. Not only does it make that
person feel important, it lets you remember their name
through repetition.
Elbow-and hand-touching — when done discreetly - grabs
attention, reinforces a comment, underlines a concept,
increases your influence over others, makes you more memo-
rable and creates positive impressions on everyone.SummaryIt makes no difference how you look at it, any crossing of the
arms in front of the body is seen as negative and the message
is as much in the mind of the receiver as the sender. Even if you
fold your arms because, for example, you have a backache, an
observer will still unconsciously perceive you as closed to their
ideas. Make a decision now to practise not crossing your arms
and in the following chapters we will show you what to do to
project a more positive, confident image.