Public speaking is hell right? Your mouth dries up, your stomach has a whole squadron of butterflies flying around, your legs feel weak and so on. It’s awful! Well actually it’s not that bad. Really. Here are five tips to get a grip of the dread fear before a presentation.

1. Practice. There is no substitute for knowing your presentation well enough so that even if you forget the exact words that you had in mind you can improvise because you have a clear idea of what it is you wish to say. Practice until you are so familiar with your presentation that you have no doubt that you will always have the words to convey your message.
2. Breathe. When you become scared your body goes into fight or flight mode. Adrenaline courses through your veins so that you are ready to do battle or run like the wind. Neither is good for presentations. To get control of your body take slow deep breaths. Your body automatically responds to deep breaths by relaxing. This is because the brain is very literal. If you breathe slowly and deeply the brain assumes all is well and begins to relax the body. Breathe in and out through your nose, drawing the breath slowly in so it fills you lungs, hold for a count of two and let it out equally slowly. Repeat as often as you need but you will find that after four or five repetitions your body is much more relaxed.
3. Focus on the audience. I can almost hear the response now: What? Focus on the audience? Are you crazy? They are the people I’m nervous about! Well that may be true but if you focus on giving the audience what they need, on building rapport with them and communicating in a way that reaches your whole audience you will find that you have a lot less time to worry about yourself!
4. Visualisation. As part of your practice visualise yourself giving a calm and confident presentation. Make the images vivid, pay attention to how it feels, the response you get from your audience and the sights and sounds you experience. This is a form of training your brain to accept that this is the way things are. Spend time teaching your brain the response you want it to generate before and during your presentation.
5. Use affirmations. Affirmations are a great tool if you use them properly. Phrases like “every day I feel better in every way” are poor affirmations. They are too vague, as I said before, your brain is very literal and needs specific instructions. You need to say something like “when I give my presentation i will feel calm and confident and I will speak with authority” Repeat this frequently in the days leading to your presentation and your brain will accept this as the truth.

Keeping calm before a presentation or any big event is all about conditioning. Condition your brain to respond the way it needs to and it will do it exactly the way you teach it. It takes a little time and conscious effort but the results are worth it!

Time is an important concept to human beings… it dominates our lives. We are driven by the demands and boundaries of time, yet time is beyond our ability to control – rather, we learn to “manage” it. There is an entire industry birthed around helping us “manage” our time better. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an important concept. I, for one, want to make sure I use my time on this earth as effectively as I can. But I wonder if we all wouldn’t find a greater measure of freedom if we thought about the concept of time differently before we attempted to “manage” it?

Time is a continuum and a constant in our world… at any given moment we will always have experienced a past, be living in the present, and be facing a future. How did that mere fact become so controlling in our lives? Think about it – we are endlessly juggling the implications of our past, the demands of our present, and our thoughts about the future. I hear so many people say “live in the moment” or “live one day at a time”… we all are familiar with those phrases and perhaps they have lost some of their impact due to simple overuse. But the truth behind these sayings is that nothing is truly REAL except for this very moment, and now the next moment, and now the next… and on and on. Unfortunately few of us think that way… somehow we’ve allowed our past and our future to become more dominant and real to us than the present moment. How much time do you spend truly immersed in the moment at hand versus thinking (often worrying) about what happened in the past or what may happen in your future?

Let me give the past the acknowledgment it requires – yes, we understand that our past shapes us. We should learn from it and teach those lessons to others. But is the past deserving of the power that we so willing give it? Should the past, whether it be our childhood or what happened this morning, be the lens through which we see our present? Often we don’t even use the past to define our present moment; rather, we spend so little time in the present that we use our past to frame our future and spend our energies on those thoughts. The present moment has no place to exist or be enjoyed when we do this. Then comes the cycle of regret for not effectively using our present moments which have quickly become our past. The past is not real… yes, it happened, but it ceases to exist.

What about the demands of the future? As a entrepreneur coach I would never suggest that you don’t think about it… in fact, I am a big believer in setting goals, intentions and planning for your future. We all must have dreams that inspire, guide and push us closer to fulfilling our destiny. Hope for our future is a powerful and important emotion. However, many people spend more time shrinking back from the fear of their future, and this is when it begins to control and take us away from the power of the present moment. No matter how obvious the concept is, it bears repeating: the future is not real. It hasn’t happened yet and neither you or anyone else can predict what will occur in the future moments. How have we been so persuaded to spend so much thought time in and on our future?

Live in the present moment..it’s not just a feel-good quote on a plaque. Make the most of what you can do right now. Put the past and the future in their rightful place, but stop giving them top billing in your thought life. The past and the future are not real… we truly live moment by moment, whether we want to our not. Recognize and embrace that principle in your life and walk in the freedom that it offers.

You can enhance any product and its overall image with the right presentation box. Presentation of a product is an important element in the sales process so choosing the best packaging is essential. Retailers of presentation boxes stock several standard designs that can be printed with your branding. Some companies also supply presentation boxes to your exact requirements; a design can be adapted or made from scratch. A unique presentation pack will create a lot of attention and this is ideal for a product launch.

A product sold, contained within a lovely presentation box, will command a higher value and quality to the buyer. There is a wide choice of different boxes available from rigid to flat pack, folding boxes and postal mailers as well as many other options. Even if your product is irregularly shaped or bulky a suitable presentation box can be created. Presentation boxes come in all sizes and several shapes to accommodate any product. They can house fragile items, be made from recycled material and produced in small quantities by some companies.

In order to make your particular product look amazing you may have to send off for several free samples. Most presentation box sellers will send you a sample if you request one, you can then see and feel the quality. Several finishes on boxes are on offer; you may wish to compare a matt finish to a gloss finish. Since the recent eco friendly and recycle it trends have become extremely popular, a great deal of packaging is supplied using organic materials. This can give a good impression of your company supporting green issues.

Boxes and other packaging can have fabric linings, inserts and various lid designs. They can be crafted to your exact specifications to compliment to your product. The supplier will have plenty of decorative extras to select if your box concept needs them. There are ribbons, tissue papers, tags and many other items that can be included to make the packaging extra special. You will need to know the dimensions of your concept box and the type of material you prefer. Your lid or tabs are options you need to decide on. You will also need to consider your budget for presentation costs.

A presentation box displays your product and ideas in a perfect way. Your product can be contained within and the presentation box will attract people to it. Presentation is an arrangement, a debut or exhibition of your line or brand. Getting it right can have a marked effect on sales figures and popularity. The possibilities for presentation box style, texture and design are endless.

Big name brands spend a large portion of their budget on packaging and promotion. They know from experience they will re coop this cost with increased sales. Smaller brands and start up businesses can grow immensely with improved packaging without changing the product.

An effective presentation is now a vital aspect of professional life. Generally, a presentation can be grouped into three categories:

1. Informational Presentation – An information-driven presentation is delivered to update customers, suppliers, investors, sellers, and owners.
2. Pedagogical Presentation - A learning-oriented presentation is conducted to enhance knowledge/skills of all participants.
3. Persuasive Presentation – A motivation-driven presentation is arranged to enhance execution vigor or cooperative feelings among participants or team members.

An effective presentation needs positive, focus and confident mindset and poised behavior. Suppose you are going for some presentation. There is three steps roadmap towards positive/focus/confident mindset and poised behavior – Thought Awareness, Rational Limitation, and Self Suggestions.

Step – I (Thought Awareness)

There are some typical negative thoughts you might experience about presentation:

• Fear about the quality of performance, technical problems that may come up, and harsh criticism;
• Worry about the reaction of peers, general audience, and stakeholders;
• Doubt on real strengths / potential opportunities,
• Visualizing the negative consequences of a poor performance;
• Self-criticism over less than perfect preparation, rehearsal and practice,
• Frustration or Anger on certain real inadequacies or deficiencies.

These negative thoughts/negativity traps can disturb focus, damage confidence, harm performance, paralyze mental skills, and radiate negativity.

Step – II (Rational Limitations)

In rational limitation process you challenge the negative thoughts and counter them with rationality. Looking at some of the examples, the following challenges could be made to these common negative thoughts:

• Quality of Performance: Have you gathered the information you need and prepared it properly for the event? Have you conducted a reasonable number of rehearsals, real or mental? If so, you’ve done as much as you can to give a good performance.
• Technical Problems and Issues Outside your Control: The key to develop a rational limitation for successful presentation on technical problems is to realize that you cannot control all relevant factors in your presentation that may create a distraction. While you can control your own behavior or your professional response, you cannot control traffic jams, airline delays, power shutdown, computer network outrage, and communication problems due to damaged equipment. However, it is important to consider the possible risks and necessary steps to mitigate their effects on presentation.
• Fear About Harsh Criticism / Worry About Other People’s Reaction: If you perform the best you can, then you have given a good performance, fair people are likely to respond well. If people are not fair, then the best thing is to ignore them and rise above any unfair comments.
• Problems During Practice: If some of your practices were less than perfect, then remind yourself that the purpose of practice is to identify problems so that they will not be repeated during the performance. Similarly, ask yourself whether it is reasonable to expect perfect performance. All that is important is effective or great performance not perfect.

Step – III (Self Suggestions)

By now, you would be more positive/focus/confident. The final step for effective presentation is to prepare self-suggestions to counter any remaining negativity or divergence. A few positive affirmations could be:

• Quality of Performance: “I have prepared well and have rehearsed thoroughly. I am ready to deliver an excellent presentation.”
• Problems of Distraction and Issues Outside your Control: “I have thought everything that might reasonably happen and have planned wisely how I can handle all likely contingencies. I am well equipped to react flexibly/firmly to any surprised situation.”
• Worry About other People’s Reaction: “Fair people will react reasonably to a well-prepared performance. I will rise above any unfair criticism in a mature and professional way.”

One of the keys to a successful presentation is to be prepared. This includes not only improving your expertise with your content and presentation skills but also anticipating what can and will go wrong. Whether you tote a briefcase, backpack, laptop bag or other carry-on luggage, packing a well-stocked presentation bag can be the answer to any number of problems which can happen before and during your presentations. Whether you are speaking across the globe or down the street, create a presentation checklist of essential items which may include the following. (Note: This list assumes a projector, projector screen, and microphone are provided although some presenters are responsible for these as well).

• Laptop.
• Dedicated laptop power supply which stays in your bag. Leave the original computer manufacturer version at your desk. Every time I buy a new computer, I also buy an extra AC adapter but you can find a number of universal power supplies at your local office or computer supply store.
• Extra battery for laptop.
• Presentation remote control; your own equipment which you have used before.
• Extra batteries for remote, headphones, and other equipment plus spare 9 volt batteries for the wireless microphones in a meeting room. Although these are often supplied by a hotel or A/V staff, when these go dead, it always seems to be in the middle of a presentation.
• Adapters and dongles: HDMI to VGA adapter and other dongles to insure you can connect your laptop to the provided projection system. Mac users often need an expanded selection depending on the types of ports on their notebook.
• Mouse and mouse pad.
• Three-prong extension cord or power strip.
• AV or gaffers tape to tape down cords; duct tape is too sticky and leaves lots of residue.
• Security cable for laptop; although these can be cut, it creates a deterrent to a swift thief.
• Portable timer or clock or timer phone app with a readable display to monitor presentation time. I run the Minimalistic Countdown Timer (from Countdown Kings) on my iPad and iPhone.
• Rubber door stop for wobbly or uneven projector.
• Backup copy of presentation on accessible cloud drive or USB flash drive to transfer it to another laptop if you have equipment failure.
• Hard copies of presentation slide show and presentation handout.
• Presentation notes.
• Playing music? Smart phone or laptop loaded with royalty-free music you can play during walk-in and breaks in your program, plus your personal playlists of music, movies, and TV shows. I typically play music directly from my laptop and then connect from the sound system to my laptop.
• Notebook or bluetooth speaker for video audio and music for smaller sessions.
• Cell phone, video camera, surge protectors, and chargers for all mobile devices; adapters and airline chargers for international travel.
• Noise canceling headphones to help buffer noisy plane flights.
• A spare pair of earbuds.
• Copy of AV room setup.
• Copy of your presentation introduction printed in a large font on heavy cardstock.
• Monitor extension cord. Although this may not be needed by many presenters, a monitor extension cord (I have these for both VGA and HDMI connections) is one of my essentials as I present directly from my laptop and often need to move it further away from the projector.
• Labels with my name and contact information on laptop and all accessories.
• Cough drops or throat drops; avoid cherry flavored which will give you an odd red mouth. I also travel with a small, portable throat spray such as Singer’s Saving Grace.
• Pepto-Bismol chewable tablets, Imodium AD, and other first aid remedies to help you recover from a long flight or strange food.
• Eye mask for airplane naps. Also handy for ending unwanted conversations with annoying seatmates.
• Color copies of your passport and drivers license. Also upload to the cloud for easy reference.
• A collection of $5, $10, $20 bills for tipping hotel setup staff and other helpful personnel.
• Starbucks Coffee gift cards for handy thank yous.
• A copy of this checklist for easy reference and to add your own items.
• All this, and more, should fit neatly in your carry-on bag. Not only have these essentials saved me multiple times, but I have also rescued several of my fellow presenters as well.

All this, and more, should fit neatly in your carry-on bag. Not only have these essentials saved me multiple times, but I have also rescued several of my fellow presenters as well.

Were these PowerPoint tips helpful? Discover more PowerPoint techniques and shortcuts here and download a presentation checklist.

Many people don’t even realize how the tiny little mole of debt they owed turned into a huge mountain! If this sounds like you, what is it that comes to your mind when you first think about debt negotiation? Do you consider debt settlement as your way from darkness to light or are you worried about its aftereffects on your credit report?

Honestly, people look at debt negotiation from both the above perspectives and there are both, advantages as well as disadvantages of debt negotiation!

Now consider this situation. Your total borrowings are just too high and there is no way you can pay off that huge amount of debt. You are trapped. The only two options that you have before you are to either file bankruptcy or pick debt negotiation to reduce your debts! In such a boiling situation what would you choose?

Go for filing bankruptcy, you are likely to have very hard time to rise again in life. Don’t even think of setting up a new business or applying for a loan until 7 years are over! As for debt negotiation, there are two things worth considering. Firstly, you show ethical and moral responsibility by trying to pay off your debts; secondly, you are saving your credit report from the permanent damage that bankruptcy could do!

Even though debt negotiation may damage your credit history for years but the impact is certainly MUCH lesser than in the case of filing bankruptcy!

If you think debt negotiation is a great option for you, you should hire a professional debt expert to handle your debt settlement process. You couldn’t afford to make mistakes here or there, and then you could be heading for a bigger trouble! During the process to hire a debt relief specialist to negotiate debt, you should look at their track records. Also it’s important that you find the debt negotiation service that doesn’t scam you into paying such huge amount upfront. You have to understand that paying such huge amount upfront is not ideal for your financial situation. Instead try to find a service where you can pay for their service in monthly installments.

If you wonder where you can find good debt negotiation experts, you can always use quality debt relief services that help you find couple of debt relief specialists in your local areas based on your debt situations. No matter whom you decide to work with later on, you need to get basic questions answered. After that, you can have rough ideas how he/she can help you reduce your debt via negotiation debt.

In over two decades of conducting seminars and workshops for fellow purchasing pros, all have voiced one constant refrain. Their goal is “to become more comfortable, confident, and competent in negotiations.” Sales pros are always eager to hear from customers so negotiation training presented by a buyer is especially valuable.

Needs and solutions

Businesses must constantly train buyers in negotiation, the core competency of the profession. When sales skyrocket, there is less interest in negotiation training than when sales collapse and negotiation training provides much to all of the profitability.

In today’s economic climate, the question of which training medium and associated costs is top of mind. Traditional in house customized training is best but also most expensive while self study through books, manuals, CD/DVD, and online courses is more convenient. No matter your choice, the credentials and recommendations of the training service provider makes all the difference.

Selecting a negotiation training for buyers

Most commercially available negotiation training is presented from the slant of sales, legal, or academic worlds. Buyers want the material to be presented and developed by an expert who has earned chops in their trade. This means having worked at the buying profession and continuing such work on a frequent consulting basis. He or she should have earned professional designations such as Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP). Most importantly, ascertain and verify references of polished speaking, presentation, and adult education & training skills and accomplishments.

Call the trainer to talk one on one. Most large training houses will not connect you with their staff who are generally poorly paid and inadequately skilled. Most have little depth beyond the printed page of the manual before them. These sources are particularly bad choices for corporate clients with demands for customized regimes. While something is better than nothing, the adage of getting what one pays for applies.

Benchmarks

• One thousand days of seminar and workshops should be the minimum that your trainer has under the belt. There is no substitute for time on the feet in front of thousands of individuals to hone the skills.
• Demand and verify references. A successful veteran trainer can produce a vault full of written references and contacts with past clients.
• Contributions to the profession must include not only earned professional designations but published articles, books, CDs and DVDs, and the like at o help fellow pros improve their performance.
• Education resources are valuable follow on resources for seminar participants. These include fully customized high quality training manuals and handouts that reflect your company’s unique situation
• Exercise driven and interactive content; adults learn best by doing Brief lecture and frequent spot and formal exercises drive participant satisfaction and crystallize the learning. The exercises must reflect workplace challenges and not merely regurgitate generic examples

How is all this done

Most of the time, it is not done, certainly not by the large training houses who have been using the same material for decades. Your service provider must engage in preparation such as

• Instruments Pre and Post Assessments benefit the participant and client. The Pre Assessment establishes the base line and reveals challenges that may not have been envisioned. It can also divulge ample exercise material to incorporate into the program. The Post Assessment, when compared to the Pre provides a quantitative measure of progress and an effective client gauge to measure ROI.
• Questionnaires and Interviews These in depth studies of the individual client are crucial to successful customization
• Tools a Negotiation Template is standard in my programs as well as other analyses as appropriate. Your trainer/supplier should also under promise and over deliver.

What does it cost and what else should you get

A good rule of thumb is between $250 and $350 per participant per day, depending upon the trainer’s fee, educational resources provided, and market factors. Doing the math for a two day seminar for thirty people, the range is between $15,000 and $21,000. Over seas travel or other extraordinary expenses will add to the total.

If you choose the right trainer/supplier, and have a multiple day program, demand the trainer/supplier write a consulting report on observations and make recommendations based upon experience and knowledge.

The moral of the story: to get the most for your training investment, hire a proven pro.

Although the need for negotiating skill may appear obvious to many, my over three decades in the event management and organization industry has clearly demonstrated that nearly every event would benefit if properly and beneficially negotiated. However, before someone can effectively negotiate, they must be superbly prepared, as a result of paying attention and doing one’s homework. That homework must include understanding and identifying the needs of the event, what the optimum goal (and any secondary ones, as well) would be, and the intent of that event. This can then lead one to the creation of a meaningful and well designed budget, a marketing plan, and a venue needs assessment. In addition, a professional negotiator understands, from the onset both his client’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the venues, as they relate to negotiations.

1. The first step is doing one’s homework. Do you, as a negotiator understand what the organization (your client) wants to achieve from this event? What has been done historically? Is this a recurrent event? Are both the event and the organizations in an upswing scenario, or have they been dwindling and becoming less relevant? What are the needs? Will food and beverage be a consideration? Are you also attracting people to the event by including an attractive hotel room rate? Why are you using this location? What are the audio- visual needs of the group? What historic data will benefit the group’s negotiating position, and what will be derogatory? Is the group flexible regarding dates, and if so, how might that impact negotiating strength? What can the group offer the venue that would make it more attractive and enhance negotiating? What impact do “comps” or free things have on the groups bottom line? Is the group open to making certain structural or how things are done modifications, in order to get more for their money? What savings might be offered the venue, that can then be passed along as savings to the group? What authority does the negotiator have?

2. After the homework has been done, a true and meaningful budget must be created. This budget must not simply be an exercise, but must become the guiding document for planning and negotiations. All revenues must be considered in a conservative, worst case scenario, while possible costs must be stated in a manner that reduces the possibility of unanticipated, unplanned for costs after the fact. Included in the budget must be a marketing plan that creates the maximum benefit for the organization, by planning wisely and using all productive resources, while emphasizing the most bang- for- the- buck.

3. Request for Proposals (RFPs) must be used as a preliminary part of the negotiations process. These must spell out needs and demands, and must create some sort of competitive environment to get the most for the group. A negotiator, however must always proceed using a win- win philosophy, so as to not only get a great price and cost structure, but also to create a venue- planner relationship that is mutually cooperative and that both sides consider lucrative and advantageous/ beneficial.

Too many organizations proceed without a professional negotiating process in place. This is one of the primary reasons that so many events under- achieve.

Sometimes, when we negotiate, we give up too soon. That’s the reason you have to know when “no” really means “no”, compared to “no” meaning “maybe”. How then can we recognize when “no” is a permanent position. The answer is you can’t, unless you can interpret hidden clues in nonverbal communications.

Not too long ago, I was in an open-air environment (Flea Market) where merchants were not only expected to discount their goods, but they did so as a part of their strategy for selling those goods. I approached one merchant and asked for the price of an item in which I had an interest. He quoted a price, to which I asked, ‘can you do better than that?’ He looked at me and stated the item was top quality and sold for much more than he was asking. I acknowledged his position and asked, ‘can you offer a slight discount?’ With that, he stated very emphatically, with a down turn of his lips, as he walked away from me, no! His body language and words were definitely synchronized. So, I walked away. A few minutes later, I went back to him and asked if I bought several of the items might he discount the price. Once again, with the same level of malevolence and body synchronization, he stated, no! Once more, I started to walk away, but this time, I looked at him, smiled and said, have a good day. As I walked away I could tell by the awkward expression of his body language, I had stuck a positive accord. Later in the day, I went back to the same merchant. As I approached, with a smile on my face, he smiled and said, ‘you don’t give up easily my friend.’ It was at that moment, I knew I had turned his “no” to a yes. I went on to negotiate for the items I wanted, at a discounted price, and he said, ‘if I had known you were going to be so persistent, I would have dropped the price earlier in the day.’

Nonverbal communications, also called body language, emits subliminally transmitted signals that the astute negotiator can sense. She’s attuned to those nonverbal signals, because she’s looking for them.

In order to raise your awareness of events occurring around you, when you negotiate, you need to intentionally adjust your perception to gestures and omitted words that are cast by your body language and that of the person with whom you’re negotiating. In addition, you need to understand what your body language is projecting as it relates to what’s on your mind and that of the other person.

As I travel around the US and other countries, the one thing I tell all audiences is the fact that the body does not lie. The words we use to represent our thoughts may be misleading, in which case our bodies will compensate for such actions by trying to prevent the words from passing through our lips. In so doing, body language gives insights into the thoughts we possess by disclosing some type of action. If you can accurately interpret the body language of the other negotiator, you get additional insights into his mind.

When you negotiate, interpreting and projecting body language is all about unconscious communications, yours and those with whom you’re negotiating. Once you acquire the skill of being able to accurately interpret the body language of others, and your own, you’ll notice an increase in the number of positive experiences you have when you negotiate … and everything will be right with the world.

The Negotiation Lessons are …

· When you negotiate, don’t be persistent for persistence sake, do so to improve your negotiation position. As you negotiate for that which you seek from the negotiation, always think of ways to increase the value of your offerings. Increase your perceived value by seeking input from the body language signals sent from the other negotiator and shape your additional offerings based on the signals the other person’s body language emits.

· When you explore other avenues to achieve your negotiation goals, add new dimensions to your efforts. The new dimensions do not have to be enormous; change your approach enough to have them perceived as additional or different twists to the benefits of your offerings.

· As an exercise, the next time you’re in a public place, observe the body language of those around you. Try to determine what is on the mind of those you observe by the nonverbal signals they transmit. To the degree you can validate your perception of those signals, you’ll begin to raise your awareness level of how people communicate nonverbally.

“During our introduction, I felt uneasy. There was something in his handshake that made me think that he was attempting to project himself as being powerful. I wasn’t really sure what that handshake meant but I knew he was sending me a message.” Those were words spoken by a team member when recalling how he felt at the outset of a negotiation.

Handshakes convey hidden meanings. They are one aspect of body language that people should pay more attention to. They can make you feel powerful, be perceived as powerful, or make you appear weak.

Continue reading to discover the hidden meanings conveyed simply by shaking someone’s hand.

Meaning of Handshakes:

• Hand on Top – One hand on top of the other person’s hand
  • Normally, the person whose hand is on top is signaling superiority. But, allowing one’s hand to be on the bottom can be a ploy to allow the other person to believe he’s in a superior position.

• Hard – One that appears to be overbearing
  • A hard handshake can be a sign of attempted intimidation. It can also stem from someone that is naturally strong and unaware of the strength they convey when shaking someone’s hand.
  • One’s perception is what denotes the degree that a handshake is strong or overbearing. If you’ve had prior encounters with the other party and have shaken their hand, you have a basis for comparison in the present situation. If you don’t have that comparison, consider what a normal handshake would be like from someone of the same size, gender, and background.

• Weak – Lacking power, dainty, gentle
  • Weak handshakes convey the exact opposite meaning of those that are hard. Again, don’t necessarily infer that someone is weak because they deliver a weak handshake. It may be the way they wish you to perceive them at the outset of your meeting.

• Hand/Arm Jerk – While shaking the hand, a quick movement is made that pulls the hand quickly in a jerking motion in one direction and then pushes it backward in the opposite direction.
  • Sometimes, in a playful setting, friends will engage in such banter. In negotiation settings, this gesture is most likely a subtle signal that the one exhibiting it plans to keep the other negotiator off guard. Take note when receiving such gestures and compare it to what follows.

• Firm – Not too hard, not too soft, both hands parallel to each other
  • In a negotiation, negotiators state through this gesture that they’re equal and respectful of each other.

The person holding the handshake the longest is the one controlling it – they’re stating that they’re not ready to let go. A normal handshake usually lasts for 3 to 5 upward and downward movements. Any more is excessive, which means it’s being done for a reason.

Here’s the rub. Just because someone extends a weak handshake doesn’t make them weak, nor does a strong handshake make them strong. It can all be a ploy. That means you can use this ploy as a tactic in your negotiations.

By understanding the meaning of handshakes, you understand more of what’s occurring. Thus, when someone shakes your hand, you can respond based on how you wish them to perceive you. That will alter the setting of any negotiation. That will also empower you… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!