MARKETING EVOLUTION
Is The Handshake
Dead?
At LIB,
By Marion Wakahe
we look
I
come into the house and in a glance
I can tell they’re about seven guests.
These guests are made up primarily
of extended family. I decide the prudent
thing to do, considering their number was
to give a wave and greet them collectively.
“Hallo everyone,” I say.
My aunt would have none of it. “No,
no, you have to shake my hand. I’m still
traditional, you must shake my hand.”
And with that I shook her hand. Not just
hers but everyone’s including my mother’s
(which was awkward to say the least),
because I couldn’t be seen to be selective.
So embedded is this culture of shaking
hands. Even Malia Obama, Barack
Obama’s first daughter told her father
not to shake the hands of her friends.
“Just say hi,” she’d tell him and insist that
handshaking should be reserved for their
beloved pups.
Here in Kenya, the ‘African way’ is to
shake the hand of the person you meet
(especially for the first time). So, knowing
this full well, a few years ago, whilst
prospecting for sales in Industrial Area,
Nairobi, I meet with a man of Indian
origin and extend my hand to shake
because from my perspective, it was the
courteous thing to do. He looked at my
hand and asked, “What do you want?” I
swallowed saliva, took my hand back and
let him know the company I was from and
what I hoped to sell to him. He said he
wasn’t interested and off I went.
Clearly, I forgot my lessons in
intercultural communication. Muslims
don’t shake hands with members of the
opposite gender. Many Muslims believe
that physical contact with the opposite
gender is unnecessary, and in many cases,
prohibited (haram). I decided he must
have been Muslim given that he refused
to take my hand.
Ever since the incident of my hand being
rejected, I’ve had my reservations about
shaking hands. I’d been told that my
handshake was limp and that I needed to
work on my grip. I’d also met with some
Given its novelty, we still have a lot to
learn about the Corona virus but one
thing is for certain, for a long time physical
contact will be limited to close family
and friends. Handshaking will be frowned
upon and even though a vaccine might be
found, people will still be apprehensive
about taking others’ hands.
(mostly men) who’d give such a grip I
could almost hear one of my metacarpals
break. Thereafter my hand would throb
and I’d need to rub it.
Then, I read this book by Allan and
Barbara Pease on body language and
in it they speak about the dominating
handshake (palm facing downward) and
the subordinate handshake (palm facing
upward). All in all, the dynamics of
handshaking, such as how firm and how
long, I’d never quite mastered, and the
idea that I could be judged solely on a
handshake gave me the chills. Honestly
speaking, I give much better hugs and
kisses (on the cheek).
However, ladies and gentlemen, as we all
know, I’m describing the era B.C. (Before
Covid-19). We’re now operating in a new
epoch. Rona has caused a 180 degree turn
in so many different ways it leaves one’s
head spinning. Since March 12th when
the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed
in Kenya, we’ve been introduced to
new terms and behaviors. Flatten the
curve, social distancing, N95, PPE,
epidemic, pandemic, isolating, quarantine,
quarantinis, covidiots, are some of the
terms we now use.
The main thing for me however, is the
change in behavior. I’ve always been one
who likes my personal space and avoids
getting too close to other people. I must
admit though, that after the announcement
of Kenya’s first Covid-19 case I was taken
by surprise seeing the wide berths people
gave each other. There was a palpable sense
of fear of others. Fortunately as I write
this, things seemed to have eased off a
little.
at Healthcare
from every
perspective.
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