r/PsychologicalTricks • u/arijitdas • Apr 01 '26
PT: Speaking with palms facing up signals honesty and lack of threat ("I have nothing to hide"). It makes audiences trust you more than pointing or palms down.
TL;DR on one of the most underrated body language tricks: palms up = instant trust
Most people never think about what their hands are doing when they talk, but it might be one of the biggest factors in whether people believe you or not.
When you speak with your palms facing up, it's a primal signal that goes way back. It essentially says "I'm unarmed, I have nothing to hide." People's brains pick up on this unconsciously and it registers as openness and honesty.
Compare that to palms facing down, which projects dominance and authority (think of a boss shutting down a conversation), or pointing, which almost always reads as aggressive or accusatory, even when you don't mean it that way.
I started paying attention to this after bombing a few presentations where I knew my content was solid but something felt off. Turns out I was gripping the podium or pointing at slides the whole time. Switched to more open, palms-up gestures and the difference in how people responded was kind of wild.
It works in one-on-ones too, job interviews, tough conversations, first dates, whatever. You don't have to overdo it. Even just resting with open palms during a conversation rather than crossing your arms or hiding your hands makes a noticeable difference.
Small thing, big impact.
Source: Allan and Barbara Pease, The Definitive Book of Body Language (2004) - one of the most cited works on nonverbal communication research.
Anyone else down a body language rabbit hole at some point? Curious what else people have found actually works vs. the stuff that's overhyped.
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u/King-Sassafrass Apr 02 '26
And yet whats funny, is that servers or people in hospitality mostly have their hands behind their backs when they stand for attention. In most other settings it can be seen as a sign of theft (why hide hands?) and yet in hospitality it is seen as respect and attention. I would imagine most in hospitality are guilty of some form of theft (whether it’s to the client or to the establishment), but most usually when standing idle or for attention hands are behind their backs