Business Hands: Learning Handshakes

Starting your own business is a great way to make some extra money or develop your career. But just because you’re giving yourself this job doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax!

Running a business takes work, and there's no guarantee that it will succeed. In fact, most businesses don't survive their first year.

That's why it's so important to prepare for the challenges of running a business by learning how to do some basic things well. These hands-on skills include everything from doing accounting to marketing and writing.

Having these basics in place will help you get through those tough times when your business isn’t going as smoothly as you hoped. They'll also give you something to fall back on if you're ever unable to run the business due to health issues.

But investing time into learning these fundamentals now could cost you nothing more than a few hundred dollars and hours spent studying. So whether you're an experienced entrepreneur already looking to expand or someone who has never owned a business before, here are our top 10 business hand tips to try out.

How to do a handshaking

business hands

Handshakes are one of the most common ways to greet people. Most experts agree that there is an optimal number of hands you should shake between two people for a comfortable length of time.

However, how many hands you shake depends on who you are greeting and what kind of mood they’re in. If you’re meeting someone with which there has been no introduction, a firm handshake will show respect and formalize the connection.

If you meet someone at a casual gathering or event, you can opt for a warmer exchange, like kissing both their hands.

How to get a handshake that is perfect

business hands

When someone shakes your hand, they are telling you something about themselves- how well they take care of others, their leadership skills, and what kinds of things matter to them.

When people shake hands, they typically offer a firm, steady grip with both hands. If one of your friend’s doesn’t look natural or strong, try doing it yourself and see if you feel more comfortable using his or her hand as an example!

But aside from looking professional, there's another reason why having good business hands is important — it can say a lot about a person.

A casual handshake means nothing - it could be because everyone else in the room got so nervous that they gave each other limp palms. Or maybe they were too busy talking to bother putting together a proper greeting.

Or perhaps they didn’t want to risk breaking up a friendship by being overly friendly with each other.

How to hold a business card properly

business hands

When someone calls you, goes online to look up your company or meets you in person for the first time, one of the first things they will do is take their business card and put it somewhere safe so they can remember who you are later.

The way to hold a business card is with the back edge resting on your hand, like a standard phone book index card. Your thumb should be able to easily access the top part of the card, but not the bottom half which has an identifying number and name.

That’s why most people don’t ever see what’s written on the front side of a business card! Once again, keep the cards away from anything contaminated (like water) that could smear the surface.

Practice holding this basic card position until it's second nature. Also, if you're having trouble keeping the cards dry, use a gel pen to write on the wet surface, let it set for a few minutes, then try re-holding them.

Touching your hand with theirs

business hands

A few days ago, I was at my local supermarket when I noticed an employee across the store grabbing boxes off the shelf quickly. He put some items into his cart and then took out his hands to grab another box.

I found this odd because he had already picked up the first one and now he was putting in enough effort to get the second one. It is important to remember that you should always assume a good mood until proven otherwise so it made me wonder if something was wrong.

It is hard to say what happened next but suddenly there were lots of people around him trying to help. Two different employees helped him by taking the item from the top rack and placing it into his cart.

He thanked them and kept shopping while most people would have left for a minute or two. It’s very possible that these employees are familiar with each other so they could see past any problems that might exist.

This may sound crazy but we all have a story behind our hands. We spent hours prepping them for work and having a normal routine can make us feel comfortable. This may be why their colleagues stepped in and helped them!

If you ever find yourself in a situation where someone needs help, try to understand their situation first before offering yours.

Relaxing your hand

business hands

When holding something heavy, like a book or phone, you will want to relax your hand as much as possible. Yours will be thinking about how heavy it is, not how strong you are!

The weaker your hands become, the heavier the object can feel. This is why people who play sports often develop very strong wrists and hands.

Your thumb and index finger should stick out just enough for you to grab onto the item easily. The rest of your fingers should be relaxed with the rest of your hand.

You do not need to use this technique when holding light items, but it does help when lifting weights! This article discussed some helpful exercises that improve strength in your hands and arms.

Business owners spend a lot of time using their hands for work. Therefore, it is important to take good care of them to keep up productivity and reduce injury risk.

Wiggling your fingers

business hands

A few simple hand motions can get you into trouble or help you achieve success in business. These are called “business hands” and they’re very common gestures done by people in almost every industry.

The first business hand is to put out the fist, then open it up, making a small circle. Then take one of the middle knuckles (the ones that line up with the index finger) and roll it back towards the elbow. This is the business handshake.

Most people use this as their standard greeting business style, but there are some who don’t. Some like to keep their fists closed or have crooked or crossed wrists.

These are all good styles, just not the defaults.

Rubbing your hands

business hands

When you need to do some business talking, then it is time to get into action! While holding an event, meeting or conversation, one of the easiest things to do is rub your hands together. This can be done before, during, or after the talk depending on what kind of feeling you want to achieve.

Some say rubbing your hands in a slow motion will boost your energy level while doing other activities. It is also said to increase blood flow which helps with relaxation and sleep later. Both are very important if you want to keep up this busy lifestyle.

However, there is another reason why this trick works when trying to gain attention. By rubbing your hands fast, it creates a lot of friction which produces heat. The more heat that is produced, the more awake you become as people around you must notice how energetic you look.

This doesn’t mean to grab your hand and whip out your wallet- but saying something interesting enough to draw attention is similar.

Touching their arm

business hands

A few people may feel uncomfortable when approached by another person, but this is totally normal. It’s like when your parents tell you to stay away from something because it could hurt you.

Some things are too powerful or harmful for yourself. Same thing with touch. You may not like how someone touches you or moves you around, but that’s your problem to deal with.

Business hands can be tricky. There are times when someone needs to shake yours, take a phone call or ask you to do something.

You need to let go and trust them so you don’t get distracted or hurt before that happens. This will take practice, but here are some tips to help you.

Don’t assume anything about anyone else unless they bring up issues

We all have our secrets we keep hidden, even from ourselves. People who work close to you should be aware of these secrets, but if they don’t talk about theirs then chances are they’re not going to mention them.

That’s okay, but make sure you don’t assume anything about them until they say it. For example, maybe they’re not very organized, so you offer to handle his/her paperwork while he/she gets ready for class.

About The Author

Tiara Ogabang
Tiara Joan Ogabang is a talented content writer and marketing expert, currently working for the innovative company juice.ai. With a passion for writing and a keen eye for detail, Tiara has quickly become an integral part of the team, helping to drive engagement and build brand awareness through her creative and engaging content.
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