Power of touch

Touch the interlocutor during a handshake with your left hand - and you will get amazing results.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota conducted a small experiment in a telephone booth. They put a coin on the shelf, and then hid behind a tree, waiting for an unsuspecting person to enter the booth. Then one of the researchers approached the booth and asked: “Have you seen my coin here? I need to call again. ” Only 23% of callers admitted that there was indeed a coin in the booth and returned it to the owner.
In the second part of the study, the coin was placed in the same way, but the researcher, who approached the caller, as if by chance touched the other person’s elbow. The contact lasted only three seconds, and 68% of the callers returned the coin. People looked confused and began to justify themselves: "I tried to find someone who left a coin, but ..."

The correct touch to the elbow of the interlocutor three times increases your chances of getting what you want.

This trick works for three reasons. First, the elbow is considered a remote space, it is located far enough from the intimate parts of the body. Secondly, in most countries it is not customary to touch strangers, so your gesture will immediately make an impression. Thirdly, a light three-second touch creates instant communication between the interlocutors. Repeating the same experiment in a television program, we found that in different countries a different number of people returns a coin, depending on how common the touches are in a given culture. After touching the elbow, 72% of Australians, 70% of English, 85% of Germans, 50% of French and 22% of Italians returned the coin. From this we can conclude that touching is most effective in places where such gestures are not the cultural norm. We counted the number of touches in street cafes in different countries of the world. In Rome, we counted 220 touches in an hour, in Paris - 142, in Sydney - 25, in New York - 4, and in London - not one. The more British or German blood in you, the less often you touch other people and the more effective your elbow will be.

If you are German or English by birth, then you are much more vulnerable to touch than people of other nationalities.

In addition, we found that women are four times more likely to touch another woman than men to each other. In many countries, touching above or below the elbow does not bring as positive results as touching the elbow directly, and often even causes a negative reaction. People react equally negatively to prolonged (more than three seconds) touch. In such a situation, a person looks at your hand in bewilderment, not realizing that you are doing this.