Steepling Demonstrates Confidence

It's likely that if you were to impersonate Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, you'd utter "great" while twirling your fingers. That hand gesture would be made by someone like Mr. Burns in real life, not simply in a cartoon. When you clasp your hands together with the fingertips pointing upward like a church steeple, you are expressing confidence. It's the most potent example of confidence somebody can give, claims Navarro.

Navarro asserts that a person who is anxious or uncertain will wring their hands and make shaky hand motions. The opposite, which exudes power, is steepling. When it's gone, the assurance this gesture conveys vanishes. Take it as a positive indication that someone is losing their confidence if they go from steepling to not steepling. When someone starts slowly rubbing their hands together, it's a clear sign that they are under stress.