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My question is about handshake etiquette.

Due to a mild nerve injury in my right hand I cannot bare to shake hands. In my line of work, manners are important in terms of first impressions. Not only for me but as a representative of my company I have to be polite when greeting clients and coworkers. Is there a way I can get around NOT shaking hands?

–ED, Chicago

Traditionally, hand shaking (one of the oldest forms of etiquette) was a sign of trust. Offering an empty had to shake signaled that you weren’t carrying a weapon.

Today, the purpose of the handshake is to signal that you are genuinely pleased to meet the person or to see them again.

U.K research shows that a strong, firm handshake that projects extroversion and emotional expressiveness may well affect the chance of clinching the deal or being hired for the job. On the dark side, one or the other, or both persons, could be hypocrites.

It is difficult to refrain from shaking hands. We don’t think about how we’re putting others, or ourselves, at risk.

Most of us don’t wash our hands with soap for longer than ten seconds. Moreover, the awkwardness of refusing to shake hands even for a legitimate reason, overpowers our concern that shaking hands is a hazard we are taught to tolerate.

If you absolutely must avoid shaking hands, choose a hand-shake-free greeting. Say, that you have “a touch of a cough.” Or simply, “I don’t shake hands, it is nothing personal.”

Alternatively, offer a good smile while giving a slight wave of your hand. Try the queen’s wave where you raise an open welcoming palm with the tips of your fingers pointed toward the ceiling and wave from left to right until you’ve got the attention of the person you’re greeting. It is called the “windshield wiper wave.”

You can also give a slight bow.

There’s always a kiss.

~Didi