Body Language of The Hand Rubbing Gesture

Body Language of The Hand Rubbing Gesture

Cue: Hand Rubbing Gesture.

Synonym(s): Rubbing The Hands.

Description: Rubbing one hand with the other hand, palm-to-palm.

In One Sentence: Rubbing the hands is a sign that someone is preparing to receive something desirable.

How To Use it: Rubbing the hands is a great way to embody hand cleansing which has been shown to produce a mental reset absolving one’s self from moral sin. By figuratively washing the hands, the mind can be more at ease from a transgression. Actually washing the hands also produces the same moral cleansing effect.

Generally, being obvious about your good fortune by rubbing the hands is not advisable because it can raise suspicion or produce jealousy. However, when a shared resource is coming to a group of people, you can share your enthusiasm by rubbing the hands together excitedly.

Context: a) General b) Business.

Verbal Translation: “I’m rubbing my hands to figuratively clean them in preparation to receive something desirable.”

Variant: Hands might cup each other with no rubbing to minimize the likelihood of detection.

Cue In Action: a) It had been a long time before she saw her baby niece. She rubbed her hands together quickly in anticipation of a big bear hug. b) The real estate agent rubbed his hands quickly when the buyer decided to put in an offer over the asking price.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Rubbing the hands signifies the expectation of receiving something.

It has roots in washing the hands to accept goods with hands free of dirt. Hand rubbing occurs just before closing a deal or a sale, when we win a prize, or the expectation to win is present. There are variations in the degree of intensity to which this hand rubbing occurs, and this also provides us with information. For example, rubbing the hands slowly often comes across as devious when accompanied with a smug smile. A used car salesman will slowly rub his hands together as he cooks up a plan to pocket a larger commission for himself at the expense of another.

Slow hand rubbing usually means that good is coming to the sender of the message alone, whereas quick rubbing usually indicates mutual benefit. The slow hand rubber is diminishing and concealing his signal by slowing it down or even possibly hiding it, whereas the fast rubber is making his gesture more obvious with his hands in plain view, so both parties can share in the anticipation. A real estate agent, for example, might have two suitable properties for his client, however, one might yield a higher payout for him, while the other might be more suitable for his client. If hand rubbing slows while he shows one property over the other, he might just be telling everyone which he’d rather sell. It would then be up to the buyer to do his due diligence and be cautious about the agent’s motives. We should always be careful when people rub their hands when it implies that we might benefit others at our expense, and the slower, more concealed the rubbing occurs, the more we should be weary.

Cue Cluster: Widened, alert eyes, eyes may dart around seeking information, hands will remain out of pockets or hidden if the anticipation is trying to be hidden from view, torso will orient toward whomever will be the giver, or if trying to conceal desire, the torso will be aimed away, but only to feign lack of desire. When the object is present, eyes will follow or monitor its location, occasionally darting in its direction.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Buy signals, Energy Displacement, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited, High confidence hand displays, Micromessaging.

Resources:

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