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.On the other hand, if the steeplegesture follows a series of negative gestures such as arm folding, leg crossing, lookingaway and numerous hand-to-face gestures, and if the buyer takes the steeple positiontowards the close of the sales presentation, the buyer may be confident that he will notbuy or that he can get rid of the salesman.In both these cases the steeple gesture meansconfidence, but one has positive results and the other negative consequences for thesalesman.The movements preceding the steeple gesture are the key to the outcome.GRIPPING HANDS, ARMS AND WRISTSSeveral prominent male members of the British Royal Family are noted for theirhabit of walking with their head up, chin out and one palm gripping the other handbehind the back.Not only does British Royalty use this gesture; it is common amongRoyalty of many countries.On the local scene, the gesture is used by the policemanpatrolling his beat, the headmaster of the local school when he is walking through theschool yard, senior military personnel and others in a position of authority. This is therefore a superiority/confidencegesture position.It also allows the person toexpose his vulnerable stomach, heart andthroat regions to others in an unconscious actof fearlessness.Our own experience shows that, if you take this position when you are in a high stress situation, such as being inter-viewed by newspaper reporters or simply waiting outside a dentist s surgery, you willfeel quite relaxed, confident and even authoritative.Our observation of Australian police officers has shown that the officers who do notwear firearms use this gesture frequently and often rock back and forth on the balls ofthe feet.However, the police officers who do wear firearms seldom display this gesture,using the hands-on-hips aggressive gesture instead (Figure 98).It seems that thefirearm itself has sufficient authority for its wearer so that the palm-in-palm gesturebecomes unnecessary as a display of authority.The palm-in-palm gesture should not be confused with the hand-gripping-wristgesture (Figure 45) which is a signal of frustration and an attempt at self-control.In thiscase one hand grips the other wrist or arm very tightly as if it is an attempt by one arm toprevent the other from striking out.Interestingly, the further the hand is moved up the back, the more angry the personhas become.The man in Figure 46, for example, is showing a greater attempt atself-control than the man in Figure 45 because the hand in Figure 46 is gripping theupper arm, not just the wrist.It is this type of gesture that has given rise to suchexpressions as, Get a good grip on yourself.This gesture is often used by sales peoplewho have called on a potential buyer and have been asked to wait in the buyer sreception area.It is a poor attempt by the salesman to disguise his nervousness and anastute buyer is likely to sense this.If a self-control gesture is changed to thepalm-in-palm position, a calming and confident feeling results.THUMB DISPLAYSIn palmistry, the thumbs denote strength of character and ego and the non-verbaluse of thumbs agrees with this.They are used to display dominance, superiority or evenaggression; thumb gestures are secondary gestures, a supportive part of a gesturecluster.Thumb displays are positive signals, often used in the typical pose of the coolmanager who uses them in the presence of subordinates.A courting man uses them inthe presence of a potential female partner and they are common among people whowear high-status or prestige clothing.People wearing new, attractive clothing usethumb displays more frequently than those who wear older, outdated clothing.The thumbs, which display superiority, become most obvious when a person givesa contradictory verbal message.Take, for example, the lawyer who turns to the jury andin a soft, low voice says, In my humble opinion, ladies and gentlemen of the jury & while displaying dominant thumb gestures and tilting back his head to look down hisnose (Figure 48).This has the effect of making the jury feel that the lawyer is insincere,even pompous.If the lawyer wished to appear humble, he should have approached thejury with one foot toward them, his coat open, an open palm display and stoopingforward a little to show humility, or even subordination to the jury. Thumbs most often protrude from people s pockets, sometimes from the backpockets (Figure 49) in a secretive manner to try to hide the person s dominant attitude.Dominant or aggressive women also use this gesture; the women s movement hasallowed them to adopt many male gestures and positions (Figure 50).In addition to allthis, thumb thrusters will often rock on the balls of their feet to give the impression ofextra height.Arms folded with thumbs pointing upwards is another popular thumb gestureposition.This is a double signal, being that of a defensive or negative attitude, (foldedarms) plus a superior attitude (displayed by the thumbs).The person using this doublegesture usually gesticulates with his or her thumbs, and rocking on the balls of the feetwhen standing is common. The thumb can also be used as a signal of ridicule or disrespect when it is used topoint at another person.For example, the husband who leans across to his friend, pointstoward his wife with a closed fist thumb gesture and says, Women are all the same, youknow , is inviting an argument with his wife.In this case the shaking thumb is used as apointer to ridicule the unfortunate woman.Consequently, thumb-pointing is irritatingto most women, particularly when a man does it.The shaking thumb is less commonamong women, although they sometimes use the gesture at their husbands or at peoplethey do not like. FiveHand-to-Face GesturesDECEIT, DOUBT, LYINGHow can you tell when someone is lying? Recognition of the non-verbal deceitgestures can be one of the most important observation skills one can acquire.So whatdeceit signals can give people away?One of the most commonly used symbols of deceit is that of the three wise monkeyswho hear, speak and see no evil.The hand-to-face actions depicted form the basis of thehuman deceit gestures (Figure 53).In other words, when we see, speak and hearuntruths or deceit, we often attempt to cover our mouth, eyes or ears with our hands.We have already mentioned that children use these obvious deceit gestures quite openly.If the young child tells a lie, he will often cover his mouth with his hands in an attemptto stop the deceitful words from coming out.If he does not wish to listen to areprimanding parent, he simply covers his ears with his hands.When he sees somethinghe doesn t wish to look at, he covers his eyes with his hands or arms
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