Lasereth

In many industries/corporations/professional entities if you shake someone's hand and you don't do it firm then you're shooting yourself in the foot. Where I grew up (rural NC) you were openly mocked if you didn't have a firm handshake. When interviewing for jobs, one of the first businesses I met with talked with me about a possible position. I shook the hand of the guy and he said "what's wrong with you? shake harder than that, come on." The problem was I was shaking as hard as I could. From that point forward I wondered if everyone else that shakes my hand thought that also.

When I shake men's hands at my job if it's limp fish or relatively weak then I immediately get a notion that they're not strong willed and don't have a backbone. I know this isn't always the case, but like in the "does the watch make the man" thread, your viewpoint of someone is what it is regardless of the person's true personality. Watches make an impression to many people and handshakes make an impression on many people.

I will admit something though: half the reason I started using handgrips was because when men shook my hand and it was a downright crush, I felt helpless about it. It is really annoying when a man with a strong grip shakes your hand and you shake back and can't even remotely match the shake. Well now I can and it feels damn good. I haven't been annoyed or embarrassed by another man's powerful shake since I started the gripper.