Many (many!) years ago when my husband Karl was starting off in sales he
was told to watch the customers’ hands when they were giving reasons why
they couldn’t buy his product. What he noticed was that when people were
being honest with him they used their hands freely and often exposed their
palms. He also noticed that when someone was being less than truthful her
hand movements were reduced and kept more concealed.The hand rub: Good for you or good for me? .................................
When you rub your palms together you’re signalling a positive expectation.
How quickly you rub them indicates who’s going to benefit. The slow palm
rub can appear devious or crafty and may leave you feeling a little uneasy.
You can bet that whatever positive result may happen is going to happen for
anyone but you. The quick hand rub indicates excitement, pleasure, and
enthusiasm. If someone is offering you an opportunity and is rubbing her
hands together quickly as she speaks, you can feel assured that her proposal
is good for you.Consider these examples:A friend tells you how excited she is about a holiday she’s about to take,
a promotion she’s been given, or a fabulous idea she’s just had. She may
well quickly rub her palms together with a big smile on her face.Once upon a time I lived and worked in Las Vegas, Nevada. No, I wasn’t a
showgirl! However, I occasionally went to the casinos and observed the
gamblers. Something I noticed at the craps table was that people throw-
ing the dice inevitably rubbed them together quickly before throwing
them. This action, along with the look on their faces, indicated that they
were expecting something positive to happen. Most of the time some-
thing positive did happen, but for the casino, not the gambler.
The car salesman or real estate agent sits you down and asks whether
you’re ready to pull out your cheque book, rubbing her hands slowly
together as she does so. Meaning? Buyer beware!After taking all your relevant details about the purchase you want to
make, the sales person rubs her palms together quickly and says, ‘I’ve
got just the thing for you!’ Here the message is that she expects the
results to be to your advantage. And if it works out for you, it probably
works out for her. Everyone wins in this case!146 Part III: The Trunk: Limbs and Roots