(Bk Business) Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D.-The Nonverbal Advantage_ Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work -Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2008)

94 The Nonverbal Advantage
A clenched-hands
gesture of low
confidence or anxiety
Hand Gestures of Low Confidence
Signs that reflect levels of low confidence include hand
wringing and interlacing one’s fingers. People who stick their
thumbs in their pockets or otherwise hide their thumbs are
usually demonstrating low confidence. (Most people leave
their thumbs in a neutral position, so any movement, up
or disappearing, could be significant.) Picking at the fingers
of one hand with the other also shows discomfort or
low confidence.
Hand Gestures of High Confidence
It is common to see a person using one or more “steeple”
gestures (hands together, fingers interlocked, index fingers
raised and touching at the tips; or palms separated slightly,
He’s confident about
what he’s saying.