Introduction: Shoulder Tap to Win Friends and Influence People - an Arab American Improvised Greeting
I've developed a greeting that has over time become a hallmark of getting to know me. It's derived from the African American Hip Hop Hug and Arab hugs and kisses evolved in an American context. With an emphasis on touch and interaction I call it the Shoulder Tap. After years of being shrouded in mystery I am revealing the secret history behind this powerful hand shake, the methods of properly executing a Shoulder Tap, tips and tricks and the motivations behind this incredible social door opener.
This video includes some video of me shoulder tapping various people in a variety of positions and excitement levels. The last shot is of me shoulder tapping Carl Bass the CEO of Autodesk, he seemed to take it well!
I hope this Instructable encourages you to consider the way touch, body language, and other nonvocal communication you employ affect people around you and the situations you get in. Good luck with being awesome! Here we go!
Step 1: Shoulder Tap Evolution - Arab American Hip Hop Hug
Shoulder tapping originates with the intersection of Arab culture and the African American culture in Metro Detroit especially Dearborn. Without delving too deeply into the sociology of the situation let's observe that Dearborn experienced an influx of immigrent Arabs coming into contact with the Hip Hop culture of the Detroit area. This produced a new hybrid of "Arab Gangstas". These are affiliated with, but not a complete subclass of Arab Hip Hop culture.
If you're from Dearborn, you know the type I'm talking about. Sure there's the real mafioso's like the late Ghadaffi, a real gangster in the most awful of ways. But the ones I'm talking about have lined up haircuts, pretend to be in gangs, and have loud rap music pumping from their hooked up Honda Civics. This isn't to belittle or undermine the importance of the resonance that comes from two oppressed communities finding a common language in rap music, speaking out against oppression and... dark shades in clubs.
This combination of cultures has brought forth some arabic hip hop. An example of which is Qusai
For those of you who don't understand the arabic rap part of this song. Let me tell you his arabic is flawless, sounds like poetry and is very classical. That's what you get when you have a background from Saudi Arabia I guess :D
And also extends into greetings. The Hip Hop culture's "pound hug" is also known as:
pound hug
pound shake
one-armed hug
dude hug
homie hug
shug
hetero hug
bro-grab
bro hug
thug hug
man-hug
hip-hop hug
Luckily for me there is an awesome video which breaks down the hip hop hug into it's various categories:
Scroll to 0:38 to see the classic example of the hip hop hug.
Pay attention to two facts of the hip hop hug:
1) It starts with a grabbing of each others thumb, not a standard handshake. This is to facilitate pulling your partner in for the hug.
2) They follow through by pulling each other closer, and following through with a one handed hug and one to two taps on the back.
Encountering these hugs growing up in Michigan I was a frequent recipient and originator of the HHH (hip hop hug). Let's now move look into understanding what touch based greetings look like in other cultures, specifically how Arab hand holding, hugging and kissing probably led to the ease of adoption of the Hip Hop Hug.
Step 2: Greetings Across Cultures - How the Shoulder Tap Acts As a Bridge
Surprise! American's are a bit reserved when it comes to touch! A handshake can be considered a foray into the others intimate space, popping that personal bubble. While in Italy a hug might be considered appropriate amongst friends, while two men kissing cheeks is considered an awesome thing to do in the middle east.
Two people of the same gender holding hands may bring up many layers of meaning in the US, in other places it's simply considered a way to connect while walking and talking. But we should recognize that walking and holding hands is bonding and has it's place as a meaningful way of communicating throughout history and cultures. It's just not easy to pull off naturally in Nebraska.
I am an Arab American and as a culture Arabs are far touchier with our greetings and our interactions. Have you ever been in a line and had an Arab dude breath down your neck? That's because we have no real consideration of personal space (as long as you're the same gender). Being an Arab American made it much easier to incorporate the BroGrab into my life. But it was a bit odd to be in Dubai and notice Arab men eskimo kissing each other, complete with lip smacking. I asked about this, and it turns out the standard cheek kiss I grew up with as a greeting is reserved for people close to you. The nose kiss thing is for new friends. Whoa.
There are issues with touch greetings. How do you know how to respond when you are either in another culture, or in between cultures (like me)? Linn Katarina Grubbström had that very issue as a Swiss national living in Denmark. Her questionare and solution to the greeting sheds some light on the complications that arise from mixed cultural greetings. Tip, you'll see that she compromised between the cheek kiss and the full hug with a one armed head to the side awkward hug. Awkward is not something you should be shooting for in your greetings. If you're going to go for a greeting, GO FULL ON ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY.
Growing up I had to grapple with the hugs my friends wanted to give me, especially since being raised in a muslim house the concept of a girl hugging me was not acceptable. Conversely the hugging and cheek kissing of Arabs weren't acceptable for many of the guys and girls around me. Also I had my own desire to break barriers and connect with people in a novel way. The Hip Hop Hug was good, but I didn't feel the connection with the rest of the culture. What developed from these multidimensional pressures was the Shoulder Tap. It combines the hug my friends want, with the distance I felt comfortable with giving women hugs. It really opens people up to new conversations, takes the Hip Hop Hug and makes it my own all while breaking the touch barrier.
But what's the point? Why not just shake hands? Let's go through and study some touch history!
Step 3: Uncomfortable Scenarios - a Short History of Touch, Hand Holding
With a keen eye for diplomacy President Bush did something that connected him with the middle east, but shocked the nation. The streets of America were buzzing with confusion when he held hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Here is a comment from that day that alludes to what many Americans may have been thinking:
"I mean I'd love to meet the president, but I'm not going to walk around holding his hand," says one wag in New York's Times Square. "I'm not that kind of guy, know what I'm saying." -CBS NEWS
I do know what you're saying good sir.
This type of man to man affection has also surprised many US soliders going over seas to fight "terrorists" and finding people there holding hands and kissing. This culture shock is clearly displayed on Keith C. Jackson's Blog. His photo is included in this step.
The modern American "pleasedon'ttouchmenothanks" attitude has not been with us forever. Check out this image from 1860 which shows two dudes holding hands posing for a portrait. I'll get to the philosophy of holding hands later. For now let's dive further into history.
The last two images I want to share with you are one of a skeleton couple holding hands (in death) for 1500 years. Yeah, that couple really demonstrates what physical intimacy means for staying together ;). The last image I'd like to show you is of two egyptians holding hands over 2000 years ago. We don't really have true to life pictorial images, but this drawing demonstrates a common thread of humanity that we all share. We long for touch.
Let's now think more deeply about touch and it's impact on our lives.
Step 4: Touch Is Awesome and Shoulder Taps Can Be the First Steps to Closeness
Let's start off with this experiment. Go to images.google.com and look up the word solidarity. What do you notice? Solidarity is represented by hand holding and touch. We've seen emotionally charged images from Egypt where Christians linked arms to protect Muslims as they prayed and it brought to mind the images of MLK marching arm in arm down from Selma to Montgomery to protest lack of voting rights.
Touch is the first sense developed in the womb and also is considered the last to leave when you die, although I can not confirm this with any of the dead people I know. Touch is the only sense we share with almost all living creatures, touch a worm and it will writhe with pleasure or pain, depending on the toucher's technique. The fact that naked mole rats and I experience a similar sensation really grounds me and connects me all of life on earth.
We say that we really need to get in "touch" when we are feeling "disconnected". These are linguistic clues that are alluding to our deep relationships between touch and emotions. To sooth a child we carry them. Teams which touch more perform better. Even the word we have for our emotions is "feelings". Think about it, how do you feel right now?
Our own president has been referred to as the "Hugger in Chief" and earlier on as a more optimistic president he had during one meeting given out more than 9 hugs. What do you think he was saying with those brograbs? Amazing! It seems like more people are becoming more open to hugging and other forms of haptic communication.
"Studies have found that: "a sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long" is just one example of the impact of our first and universal language (touch) that can be found in this awesome New York Times article.
Paul Bach-Y-Rita is a pioneer of haptic and tactile digital communication. And each year we see more research focusing on touch as a communicative and emotional sense both between people and between people and machines. For instance Tangible Media at the Media Lab has developed a touchable digital surface called Relief. Another use of technology to bridge the distance between people that is found with normal telepresence technologies (like skype) can be found with this research paper: HugMe: An Interpersonal Haptic Communication System.
Have you thought about how important touch is to you in your every day life? It's a method of communication, emotional load sharing, inspiration and healing. I hope the Shoulder Tap I've shared with you helps you break the barriers between people, and affords you a moment to stop and think about how touch is a part of your life. Because I assure you it is.
Now onto the tap!
Step 5: How to Shoulder Tap
- Prepare for the shoulder tap by making eye contact with your partner
- Raise one arm with your fingers pointing outward towards the shoulder tapee.
- Through a high five motion grab the other persons thumb and begin pulling them close, you should start drawing the knee opposite the tapping shoulder up.
- Put your hand on the shoulder you intend to tap. Use it to draw yourself in. Aim shoulder to shoulder, avoid a hug, many people turn their bodies so you wind up connecting with sternums, this is not good.
- Your shoulders should make contact. If done properly the momentum of the pull in should provide a nice bump backward which you should use to disengage. This keeps the shoulder tap to a minimum amount of contact time and avoids any awkwardness. A good tap is over almost as soon as it starts.
- When you pull away, grab the tips of your partners fingers and start to lean back.
- When there is enough tension in your fingers to create a hardy snap, let go and pull backward
- Improvise, here you can snap your fingers, or shrug, be sure to say nice words and tell the person how you feel.
Advanced shoulder tapping! Greet someone, catch some air, be a force of nature!
If you are REALLY excited to see someone and are ready for the advanced shoulder tap try this:
- Follow steps 1 and 2 as above.
- This time, when you grab their hand to pull them in, pull faster and lean forward
- When you leg oposite the shoulder up push up to get some lieft.
- Use that momentum and the shoulder as a pivot to also kick the other leg up. At this point both legs should be off the ground.
- Land laughing and make sure your partner was as excited as you were :)
1) Classic tap, this is the ideal shoulder tapping situation and worked flawlessly
2) Converting a handshake into a shoulder tap. This one is a more advanced but works well. From the handshake, turn your body to have one shoulder inline with theirs. Let the handshake go, swivel and grab their thumbs. Pull them in sideways and bump in a line.
3) This video demonstrates an excited shoulder tap, notice how during shoulder to shoulder touchdown both my legs are off the floor at 0:09 in the video
4) This scene is a shoulder tap gone awry. Notice the partner turning in for a hug and getting a shoulder in her chest. Avoid this with good eye contact, they will go with the flow.
5) This is another example of a handshake to shoulder tap. Carl Bass the CEO of auto desk has never shoulder tapped before, but you'll notice the motions are natural, almost expected and leaves him smiling. Keep smiling everyone!
+BG
Step 6: Shoulder Taps of Other Varieties
Shoulder Taps are not:
- An invitation to buy alcohol for someone underage, also known as a "Hey Mister"
- An Aikido move known as YonkyÅ (shoulder tap):
- As an AGT Attention Getting Technique using either Media Lab technology, or with etiquette defined by the American Sign Language University.
- The oldest trick in the book. Where you tap the shoulder opposite to you to confuse someone.
Step 7: Awesome Things & Credits
The first time I ever saw the "Bro Grab" is in this awesome video!
Wiki Book on senses.
An australian man named Juan Mann started the Free Hug campaign, which is an amazing way to brighten up someone's day.
Taking it up a notch, Yu Tzu-wei wants to hug everyone in Taiwan.
How to hug in a professional environment ;D :
Credits:
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/09/30/eid-greetings-hugathon-or-kissathon/
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Denzel+Washington/One+Obama+Inaugural+Celebration+Lincoln+Memorial/c2A6_0nfM9S
Muslims and Christians join hands!
Touch helps with sports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/23mind.html
Christians protecting muslims: http://www.prosebeforehos.com/image-of-the-day/11/22/egyptian-christians-holding-hands-to-protect-muslims-as-they-pray/
Christian Muslim Hand Holding: http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-struggle-still-right-protest
Hip Hop Hug credit: http://blog.beliefnet.com/stuffchristianculturelikes/2010/02/131-the-hip-hop-hug.html
Camel Kissing: http://isabellejw.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-75-wednesday-doha.html
Iraqi Soldier hand holding: http://planetzion.blogspot.com/2009/03/wtf-is-with-iraqi-men.html
MLK Arm Linking: http://www.mlkonline.net/martin-luther-king-pictures/photos/the-man/martin-luther-king-jr-1965-selma-montgomery-march/
Bush Abdulla hand holding issue: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/27/eveningnews/main691413.shtml
Bush Obama hug: http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/power-transitions-us-and-iraq
Obama and Denzel: http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Denzel+Washington/One+Obama+Inaugural+Celebration+Lincoln+Memorial/c2A6_0nfM9S
15 Comments
11 years ago on Introduction
للتحية أهمية كبرى في تنظيم مجتمع ما ،وسرها يكمن فيما تفترضه التحية ويتجلى لنا في كيفية ردها للسابق إليها ،لقد فرضتها كل الشرائع السماوية و الإنسانية والمرء المتواضع هو السباق دائما إلى التحية ،لذلك فرض على المتلقي للسلام والذي غالبا ما يكون مغرورا بنفسه مترفعا ومتكبرا أن يردها .
فالإستجابة للتحية فرضت عليه بما يميل بها إلى ما هو أحسن منها ،أوعلى الأقل بردها بمثل ما وجهت اليه تماما دون تشويه أو نقصان على أختها الأولى .
وهذا التعامل في التحية يوجد في ثقافة جميع الشعوب والأقوام بدون إستثناء.
للتحية الحرية في كيفية أدائها إما بالكلام،إما بالحركة أو مشتركتين معا في تأديتهما ،وأحيانا فيها لمس وعناق أو تقبيل.
11 years ago on Introduction
Great 'ible! It is important to be acquainted with other people's customs regarding greetings, conversations, humor, stances, etc. to avoid a faux pas.
11 years ago on Introduction
Thank you very much for your explanation of body contact in other cultures. Yes, Americans are very uptight about body contact and personal space issues as well as sex. They are probably one of the most uptight countries in the G8. I'm not sure about Japan.
Personally, I'm not uptight about touching or sex. But I just don't know the norms for other cultures.
11 years ago on Introduction
As a vision impaired person, touch is very important to me. However I was brought up in an extremely reserved environment so just the thought of trying this fills me with panic. I am unable to make eye contact with people, and so would most likely end up smacking them in the face with my head and them having to go to the hospital. That said, cheers for an informative, interesting, and enjoyable treatise on the use and importance of touch in our culture.I feel, despite my own personal reservations, that touching in our (American) society is very under-rated and misunderstood part of our culture. Also, how cool is that you met the president of AutoDesk and give him a dude hug! Thumbs up, sir! (a non-tactile, gestural method of expressing approval)
11 years ago on Introduction
Shoulder taps are common among any male-dominant group!!
11 years ago on Introduction
There is nothing that conveys interest in, sympathy with, love of, and the desire to endure with another human being than the good old-fashioned "handshake." That has been enough to display respect, sympathy, and love for one's fellow man since the average Roman Soldier started demonstrating that his (stronger) more dexterous (right-sided) hand was not bearing weapons. If you offer your hand to another with sincerity, warmth and eye-contact, there is an entire language that passes from one individual to another in that brief instant. No embellishment is required!
11 years ago on Introduction
Nothing adds more authenticity to your Instructable (as if it needed it anyway, it's very well done!) than the Dilated People's clip featuring Alchemist... those guys ARE hip hop.
11 years ago on Introduction
Not a hugger myself (due to upbringing) but want to try some of the basic greetings. Loved some of the videos (i.e. Qusai, and will be watching more of these), and found the links to add to content.
Very well done, and appreciated. Thumbs up!
11 years ago on Introduction
There is a version of this getting around Australia as well. It's basically a traditional handshake followed by the hug. My interpretation was that keeping the clenched fists between the chests preventing the A-frame hug, was to block unintended homo-erotic displays. Guys seem way more worried about this than girls.
I think just the quick tap is a progressive move. You've made your impression, but you haven't invaded personal space for too long. Well done.
11 years ago on Step 5
This is pure genius! Semiotics of the human language :') this is anthropology! beautiful! I shall be shoulder tapping in no time :D
11 years ago on Introduction
Just pure awesomeness! Great 'ible!
11 years ago on Introduction
Oh, you colonials, so avant garde...
Most Brits only hug people if they are related, on the same sports team*, drunk, or trying to get into organised crime. I was taught to hug properly by a Californian.
* And trying to prove they're confident in their manhood.
11 years ago on Introduction
You are the best shoulder tapper I know. I don't think anyone else could have rubbed shoulder with the CEO so smoothly.
11 years ago on Introduction
Here in the UK the LAN parties I go to are very very huggy environments. Certainly those of us who volunteer our time to run them spend a week or so in each others pockets with a common enemy (Anyone who has spent time in IT knows Users are the enemy :) ), we become very close very quickly. There is a lotta love in our community, and I for one enjoy it.
As someone with "weight to throw around" I feel I should reign in an advanced bro grab and let them land on me :)
11 years ago on Introduction
Ooh, now I'm excited to try the advanced shoulder tap! Although I do picture myself flat on my behind as a result.