I just returned from speaking at The Texas Conference for Women in Austin,TX where Martha Stewart kicked off the opening keynote, and 8,000 attendees (8,000!) spent an entire day networking and discussing a range of issues important to women.
Before catching my flight back to NY, I had time to attend an afternoon breakout session led by Jan Hargrave, a professor at the University of Houston and an expert in non-verbal communication. She's written several books on the topic of body language and is often called 
upon as a jury consultant. Did you know that how you hold up your right hand as you take an oath says a lot about whether or not you will lie on the stand? I found that fascinating.
Ms. Hargrave gave a number of tidbits about what your body language says about you. 
The basic premise is that our brains can lie, but our bodies can't. Who we really are and how we really feel come out in how we hold ourselves and what we do with our hands.
Shaking hands, which is a key part of networking, gives subtle signals to other people who then gauge whether we are someone with whom they would like to network. We don't even realize how that first connection speaks volumes.
For example, do you connect web-to-web or just fingers touching (should be the former). 
Do you offer your hand to the other person palm up (shows submissiveness), palm down (shows superiority) or straight up and down with palm open to the left (shows equal footing)? And how many times do you pump? Three is ideal, more shows over eagerness. Think about the message you want to send when you meet someone for the first time. It's worth getting a hold of Ms. Hargrave's book Strictly Business. I plan to.
© 2006, Liz Lynch
Liz Lynch is founder and executive director of the Center for Networking Excellence which develops products and programs to help professionals learn how to build profitable relationships. If you're ready to start networking smarter, get your free networking tips now at www.NetworkingExcellence.com .
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