The Power Is in Your HandsThis can be effective if you want to give the other person
control or allow him to feel that he is in charge of the situation
if for example, you were making an apology.
While the palm-up handshake can communicate a submis-
sive attitude, there are sometimes other circumstances to
consider. As we have seen, a person with arthritis in their
hands will be forced to give you a limp handshake because of
their condition and this makes it easy to turn their palm into
the submissive position. People who use their hands in their
profession, such as surgeons, artists and musicians, may also
give a limp handshake, purely to protect their hands. The
gesture clusters they use following their handshake will give
further clues for your assessment of them - a submissive
person will use more submissive gestures and a dominant
person will use more assertive gestures.How to Create Equality
When two dominant people shake hands, a symbolic power
struggle takes place as each person attempts to turn the other's
palm into the submissive position. The result is a vice-like
handshake with both palms remaining in the vertical position
and this creates a feeling of equality and mutual respect
because neither is prepared to give in to the other.
Communicating equality