While I’ve often talked about the importance of being aware of your posture at the table, I am giving hand placement its own section in order to emphasize its importance in signaling your intentions to others.
雖然我常常談到知曉餐桌禮儀的重要性，但為了強調手在向別人表明意圖時的重要性，我專門撰文來談談手的擺放位置。
As we all know, “Hands up!” is among the first things a police officer says when he has a criminal in range. In that instance, the police officer’s goal is to ensure he or she doesn’t have a concealed weapon.
我們都知道，警察發現一名罪犯後說的第一句話便是：“舉起手來！”。 這種情況下，警察是為了確保他/她沒有攜帶隱蔽的武器。
More happily, raising our hand is also the symbol of knowing the correct answer in grade school, or signaling our willingness to volunteer for activities as we get older. When you are seated at a table, your hands perform much the same function. They allow others at the table to feel safe around you, and they signal to others that you are available and excited to answer their questions, or volunteer for their cause.
讓人輕鬆點的例子也有：在學校裡舉手表明知道正確的答案。長大後，舉手表示志願參加某項活動。當你坐在桌子旁時，你的手也有同樣的功能。它們可以讓在坐的其他人和你在一起時有安全感，而且還在向別人表示你有空、並樂於回答他們的提問、或者願意參與他們的事業。
“But,” some clients object, “I tend to talk with my hands if they’re on the table. Isn’t that bad?”
有些客戶反對說：“但是，如果我把手放在桌子上就容易邊講話邊做手勢，這不會糟糕嗎？”
Not at all if those motions are a natural outgrowth of what you are saying. They only become distracting when they are doing something to relieve you of nervous tension, such as tapping a pencil or fiddling with a wedding ring, etc.
如果那些動作是你談話的自然衍生，那麼就一點也不糟糕。只有當你在做某些緩解緊張情緒的活動的時候（例如:敲鉛筆、擺弄結婚戒指)才會讓人分心。
So if your goal is to inspire trust in others, one of the easiest ways to do that is to keep your hands where people can see them. Once they’re on the table, my request is that they remain unclasped, as clasping your hands in front of you creates a barrier between you and those to whom you are speaking.
所以如果你的目的是讓別人信任你，最簡單的'方法之一就是把手放在人們能看見的地方。一旦把手放在桌子上，我的要求是手不要握在一起，因為緊握雙手會在你和談話方之間形成障礙。
The same principle holds true if you are standing. When you want others to trust you, keep your hands out of your pockets. Leaving them in sight will signal your honorable, or favorable, intentions. Alternatively, putting your hands in your pockets will send a message of distrust or unavailability—not to mention ruin the line of your suit.
如果你是站著的，也是同樣的道理。如果你想讓別人信任你，把手從口袋中拿出來。放在別人看得見的地方會表示出你尊敬並贊同他人的意圖。而把雙手放在口袋裡則會發出不信任、沒空等訊息——更不要說還會破壞西服的線條了。