eye contact and handshaking

Body part: Eye contact The definition Eye contact in different cultures  In the United States  In Western Europe  In the Middle East  In Asia, Latin America and Africa Handsh

Body part:

Eye contact

The definition

Eye contact in different cultures

 In the United States

 In Western Europe

 In the Middle East

 In Asia, Latin America and Africa

Handshaking

Origin and definition of handshake

Various ways and meanings of handshake

Definition of eye contact

• Eye contact is a non-verbal

communication It means one person looking directly at another person’s eye.

Eye Contact in the United States

• If you have good eye contact with a person, it

generally signifies that you are interested in the

person you are looking at and in what he or she is saying.

• If you look down or away from a person while he or

she is talking to you, you are considered to be

distracted or uninterested in him or her

• Also, if you neglect to make eye contact with a

person, you may be thought to lack self-confidence

• A person who makes eye contact with another

person is thought to be confident and bold

In summary, making eye contact

is generally considered a good

thing in the United States

Eye Contact in Western Europe

 Eye contact is a custom in Western

Europe, especially in such countries as

Spain, France and Germany

 It is considered proper and polite to

maintain almost constant eye contact with another person during a business

exchange or a conversation

 In some cases, using eye contact in Europe

is very different with the U.S

– In the U.S., people often avoid eye contact in

crowded impersonal public situations—such as

while walking through a busy downtown or riding public transportation

– In France, a stranger may feel quite free to look at someone he is interested in and try to show his

interest by making eye contact

 To sum up, it is important for a visitor to

understand the full implications of what his or she partner may be implying by returning the eye contact initiated by the partner

Eye Contact in the Middle East

• Eye contact is much less common and

considered less appropriate in many of the

cultures than it is considered in the USA

• Middle Eastern cultures have strict rules

regarding eye contact

• These rules are connected to religious laws

about appropriateness

• Western women traveling in Muslim areas

should not expect that no man will attempt to make eye contact with them

Eye Contact in Asia, Latin

America and Africa

• Eye contact can be taken as a challenge of

authority

• It is often considered more polite to have only

sporadic or brief eye contact, especially between people of different social registers (like a student and a teacher, or a child and his elder relatives)

• The rule of thumb is to be careful about the eye contact you make with anyone that could be

seen as a social superior Staring at a superior will be seen as a challenge or a sign of

disrespect

Eye is the window of the soul Thus, visual

contact is a powerful means of communication

To avoid misunderstandings, you must know the culture he or she is interacting with and

accordingly has to adapt the eye contact

• Ex: if a Japanese woman avoids looking

someone in the eyes, she is not showing a lack

of interest nor a lack of self-confidence; instead, she is being polite, respectful and appropriate

according to her culture

• In China, children show respect to elders by not making intense eye contact

Tennis players shaking

hands after match

Shaking with the

right hand while

The origin and definition of

handshake

Comes from medieval Europe, where kings and knights would extend their hands to

each other, and others hand as a

demonstration that each did not possess

concealed weapons and intended no harm to the other

A handshake is a short ritual in which two

people grasp one of each other's opposite

hands, and most cases accompanied by a

brief up and down movement of the grasped hands.

Hera and Athena handshaking , late 5th

Antiochus I of

Commagene, shaking

hands with Heracles

70-Funerary stele of Thrasea and Euandria Marble, ca 375-350 BC

Various ways and its meaning of

Handshake

 The Two-Handed Shake

During this handshake, the person's right hand will grab yours while the left hand grasps your

wrist, forearm, biceps, shoulder, or neck The

higher the left hand, the greater the manipulation and control

This is the favorite handshake of politicians

Because it implies a quick sincerity and intimacy This person is trying to sell you something that's not really there, e.g., "we're great buddies." He

or she would probably not make a good

salesperson because other people will tend not

to trust this "used car salesman" shake

The Push-Off

• At the end of the shake, your hand is

pushed away.

• It could be read as a negative message

• This handshake implies that the other

person has a strong need to establish his or her own power

The Pull-In

• It speaks of a controlling

body language

• This person holds on to

your hand to pull you

closer

• This type of person may

not be a good team

player

• If the organization's

goals conflict with this

person's goals, there will

The Topper

• This handshake says "I'm

in charge, I'm the Boss."

• It tends to be the handshake of the boss or manager who manages through control

• If this person is too controlling, this can limit his/her effectiveness with other people

The Palm Pinch

• This person just offers

you two or three fingers

• It is usually given by a

woman who hasn't

learned how to shake

hands properly

• This person will tend not

to be very good at

interpersonal skills

The Finger Squeeze

• This kind of handshake

will hurt your hand.

• This is a very insecure

type of person who

equates brute strength

with personal power.

• They use their hands as

weapons to dominate

and overpower other

people

• These days, some

women are misguidedly

The Dead Fish

• Dead Fish hand

shakers probably won't have the energy and interest

necessary for that

Some notes in the first meeting

• Never truth anyone who can not look you in the eye

• Immediately after introductions are made, there

is a small talk Usually speaker initiate start

small talk with such questions as: “do you live in this area?”, “what’s your job?”

• It’s considered to be impolite to ask “how much money do you make?”, “how old are you?” They are too personal for the first meeting

Questioning

• Is shaking hands with your opponent after playing a tennis match a good

sportsmanship whether you have won or lost?

• Why should we maintain eye contact while engaging shaking hands?

• Why a man should wait until the woman

extends her hand first?

• Most businesswomen feel comfortable shaking hands However, many women are not

acquainted with shaking hand so she may be uncomfortable or ashamed

• So it simply prevents the embarrassment of

waiting to shake the hand of a women who

doesn't follow the practice

Question 1

Why a man should wait until the woman

extends her hand first?

Question 2:

Why should we maintain eye contact while

engaging shaking hands?

• We should maintain eye contact while

engaging shaking hands because nothing will communicate self-confidence,

sincerity, and camaraderie more than this gesture

Question 3

Is shaking hands with your opponent after

playing a tennis match a good sportsmanship whether you have won or

lost?

• It is a good action in sport When you don't shake hands, you are really just telling

someone I don't like you and I don't want

to be here, nor do I deserve to be here