iAspire To Prosper

Fist bumps – elbow taps – offering namaste (or if spoken, namaskar) – nodding…what does it all mean?  What’s happening with the decline of a good, old-fashion handshake?  Where is it going?  What is it being replaced with?  What do we gain and what information do we potentially lose?  When conducting business these days – we should be asking these questions and adapting our business demeanor to keep up.

Now that hand-to-hand interactions may be fading away, we need to find alternate pathways for acquiring the information that they once offered.  When facilitating business etiquette workshops, I’ve spent upwards of a couple of hours just reviewing, deciphering and then practicing the art of a successful handshake.  I emphasize that handshakes (especially in a business setting) serve as a non-verbal messenger between individuals.  It offers language; it offers unspoken intent.  Handshakes can make or break a connection before any real verbal interaction begins.  This age-old communica...