Some listeners were concerned that a gesture so engrained in our way of life might disappear. It may be in quarantine at the moment, but we at BehaviourWise believe the handshake will return, and it will mean more to us when it does. We won't feel the need to shake hands as often, but we'll do so when it counts: when we want to communicate trust, respect, and empathy.

Patrick wrote a letter into the Joe Finnegan show this week about the disappearance of the handshake. "Hi Joe, throughout the last year as we head in and out of lockdown-it’s left me plenty of time to reminisce. I’ve been reflecting on my childhood a lot and one memory that is at the forefront of my mind is my Grandads handshake. His arm would be at full stretch and the grip was bonecrunching and he’d look you in the eyes, offer a warm greeting and smile. He used to say ‘you could tell a lot about a person from their handshake'. I now lament the fact that the handshake is dead and gone. Covid-19 has weaponised it. I understand the pandemic has brought with it many bigger problems and your listeners might find it trivial. But shaking hands was a way of life. It was a sign of trust, a respectful nod to the recipient and an icebreaking moment in conversations.  With hand shakes unlikely to return, what will the future look like when all this is over? Will we all learn a specific head tilt ? Will we be bumping elbows? or will we do a virtual shake with the air?  I don’t know the answer Joe, all I know is we’ll never see the shaking of hands again and that makes me sad." 

Claire Cogan founder of BehaviourWise and former postman Danny Burke spoke to Joe Finnegan about the changing attitude towards handshakes.