The Dynamics of the First Handshake

Real life situation: I’m in college and a classmate and I talk and introduce ourselves and we go for the handshake. Pause: Now many things can happen from here. I could do the formal firm handshake, I could give the surprisingly ubiquitous brutha-man dap (which in itself spawns a myriad of different variations), I could have given a brief pound, but in a split second, It’s hard to judge a person enough to determine what kind of handshake. Luckily for me, he went in first with an overtly open palm, which lead to dap, but I had a thought; Does the “first handshake” form a permanent perception of a person? It’s an awkward situation when one person attempts a dap, but the other person clearly has no idea of what’s going on. But then again, a formal handshake in the wrong situation can make you come off uptight and over polished. Not to mention, whatever choice of handshake can form others’ opinions on your socio-economic background or put you in a position that it seems that you are judging someone (ie: offering dap simply because someone is Black or Hispanic). Mr Spaceman’s advice on this situation is to move your approaching hand in a 270-degree circle, before actual handshake contact. That way, it allows you time to analyze the handshakee’s arm movement. If the handshakee does a low thrust, contact should be a firm formal shake (it has to be firm, weak shakes convey insecurity). However, if the handshakee goes wide and if you are in an informal setting don’t be afraid to dap it up.

Wise words from a decent man,
-Spaceman

*rule number one, keep your fazers on stun*

sidebar: check the video and try this for a first handshake lol.