The Definitive Book of Body Languagehowever, suffered in silence and soon were whispering, 'Stay
away from that new guy Adam — he's a bruiser!' The men
never brought it up - but the women simply avoided Adam.
And half the firm's bosses were women.Here's a handy thought — whether you are heavy-handed or
high-handed, engage in sleight-of-hand to avoid a hand-to-
mouth existence, you might have to show your hand
sometimes to gain the upper hand. Don't get caught red-
handed, or try to wash your hands of a mistake, because if you
bite the hand that feeds you, things could get out of hand.
The hands have been the most important tools in human
evolution and there are more connections between the brain
and the hands than between any other body parts. Few people
ever consider how their hands behave or the way they shake
hands when they meet someone. Yet those first five to seven
pumps establish whether dominance, submission or power
plays will take place. Throughout history, the open palm has
been associated with truth, honesty, allegiance and submis-
sion. Many oaths are still taken with the palm of the hand over
the heart, and the palm is held in the air when somebody is
giving evidence in a court of law; the Bible is held in the left
hand and the right palm held up for the members of the court
to view. One of the most valuable clues to discovering whether
someone is being open and honest - or not - is to watch for
palm displays. Just as a dog will expose its throat to show
submission or surrender to the victor, humans use their palms
to display in a similar way to show that they are unarmed and
therefore not a threat.
Submissive dogs reveal their throats.
Humans show their palms.