This summer I heard a brief radio piece on “Marketplace Morning Report” that immediately caught my attention. It told of some research involving the importance of a good handshake. It turns out that we humans make significant judgements about integrity, personality, self-confidence, sincerity, and competence based on a handshake. Researchers at the U.K.’s University of Manchester have even identified a mathematical formula involving the 12 factors that they say determine the quality of one’s handshake. The variables include eye contact, smile, verbal greeting, completeness of grip, dryness of hand, strength, position of hand, vigor, temperature of hands, texture of hands, control, and duration. While the visual representation of the formula yielding the perfect handshake looks as complex as a physics formula, we instinctively know a handshake that implies trustworthiness, inspires confidence, and feels sincere. We can probably all also recall handshakes we’ve experienced that significantly deviate from what we sense as normal for any of the 12 variables.
Since The Country School’s founding in 1934, the morning handshake has been an important school tradition. It represents the value the school places on each of its students and the importance of presenting oneself courteously, confidently, and capably to others. It is just one of the ways the school teaches the importance of self-presentation and manners.
By the way, here are the British researchers’ simplified tips for a good handshake: use a complete and full grip, shake three times, and “smile with your eyes and let that smile fade slowly.”