The Definitive Book of Body LanguageWorld leaders approaching from
the wrong side — the right side of
the photograph — and walking into
a dominant handshake
When Men and Women Shake Hands
Even though women have had a strong presence in the work-
force for several decades, many men and women still
experience degrees of fumbling and embarrassment in
male/female greetings. Most men report that they received
some basic handshaking training from their fathers when they
were boys, but few women report the same training. As adults,
this can create uncomfortable situations when a man reaches
first to shake a woman's hand but she may not see it — she's ini-
tially more intent on looking at his face. Feeling awkward with
his hand suspended in mid-air, the man pulls it back hoping
she didn't notice but as he does, she reaches for it and is also
left with her hand dangling in a void. He reaches for her hand
again and the result is a mish-mash of tangled fingers that
look and feel like two eager squid in a love embrace.