One of the communication stages that sends out the most clues about one’s mindstate is the greeting process.

Greeting is a way for humans to intentionally communicate awareness of each other’s presence, to show attention to, and/or to affirm or suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. As with many forms of communication, greeting habits are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. - Wikipedia

One of the most common gesture used to greet others is the handshake. Certain types of handshakes can be distinguished and each one of them has a particular psychological and social meaning.

Vice. Strong grasp of the other person’s hand. It’s often used unconsciously, but most of the times it has the intention to express power. People who want to show that they’re not weak and inefficient as others may believe often use it as a form of compensation.

Dead hand. The opposite of the vice, a totally relaxed hand. The ones who employ this type of handshake don’t connect to the other person. Their attitude, just like their hand, remains passive. Often met at persons with big egos, but also at people who have to shake lots of hands. It’s also influenced by the cultural background (African handshake). Still, the dead hand is often used for other reasons: women wanting to leave the impression of languishing femininity or by strong men use to underline their power (Mike Tyson had a dead hand handshake).

Firm hand. Fingers get around the partner’s hand; the pressure is moderate. Studies found that it is used by extrovert persons. It is also used by women who are open to new experiences.

Blood sucker. Spooky name… There are people who hold their partners hand after the handshake. By holding the other one’s hand, a person can control the flow of the discussion. What is interesting about this handshake is that the “victims” rarely have the courage to free their hand.

Wet hand. People with damp hands often try to hide this by wiping it off their clothes before shaking hands. It’s a sign of anxiety, but there are also people who have a genetic illness that determines this.

Restrengthen. An amplified version of the handshake, in which one uses his both hands.

Invasive handshake. In a symmetrical handshake, the participants hands should meet at half the distance between their bodies. The invasion refers to moving that space in one of the personal spaces of the participants.

Dominant handshake. One of the participants turns their arm so that their hand ends up above the other one’s.

For more information on the handshake psychology, read the “Handshake psychology” post.

Determining the psychological state of a person from the greeting moment can prove to be very useful in the communication process.

Use these informations together with the ones on how to interpret the eye movements, and you should be able to have a pretty decent (but still foggy) picture of what’s going on in the other person’s head.

That’s it for the fourth part of the series.

Summary:

1. I can read your mind (I). Introduction and eye movements.
2. I can read your mind (II). More eye movements.
3. I can read your mind (III). Last two eye positions.
4. I can read your mind (IV). Handshakes

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