Body language…endlessly fascinating. It can tell us what someone else is thinking, even if THEY don’t know what they’re thinking. (As you can imagine, that’s a great help in your consignment shop, as well as the rest of your life!) Here’s an example which I found in my own photos. What was I thinking?
When asked by the photographer to “show off your WWKD* bracelets”, here’s how half-a-dozen resalers showed off their pink rubber armlets at a NARTS Conference.
Notice that all put their hands out palm down, as if they were showing off their engagement rings… except for me, third from left. This photo’s sat in my computer now for almost two years, and I still can’t figure out just WHY I held out my hand palm UP.
Was I going ta-da!? Was I asking for the camera back? Did I think maybe a passer-by would shake my hand? (Or put a drink in it?)
The study of body language says that “showing the palm of one’s hand expresses a trust in others and an interest in their opinions. It also offers an opinion and invites the sharing of the other person’s view. When you meet a person who tells the truth, you will notice that he/she exposes his/her palms open to you. And ideally this is an unconscious gesture.”
I think this is the message behind my contrary body language in the photo: I was ignoring the photographer’s request to “show us your bracelets” (I do have a terrible tendency to ignore people “trying to boss me around”), and I was saying Come ON! Let’s TALK! We have so much to share!
So, if you get some time, come on over to Sharing and join us at Too Good to be Threw’s place on the web, the Premier Site for Professional Resalers. Or if you aren’t a shop owner/manager but just love to shop consignment, resale, and thrift, check out HowToConsign.com for ideas on how we can FORGET RECESSION…Shop Resale!
The photo, left to right: Patty of Wandering Wardrobe, Carolyn of Baja Rosi’s, your intrepid reporter Kate, Glenda of Caprice in Glenora, Nancy of Easy Street, and Cathy of Smarty Pants.* WWKD = What Would Kate Do? Which is what some Sharers swear is their mantra. When confronted with a novel situation or opportunity in their consignment and resale shops, they say, their first thought is What Would Kate Do? So a couple of generous, imaginative, and fun-loving Sharers had these rubber bracelets made for all of us at Conference.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Yes, great memories from this pic…question though…what does it mean that I have my eyes closed?…that I like to look as hideous as possible in all photos that end up on the www for all to see perhaps?! UGH!!
This picture brings back wonderful memories for me: a reunion with Kate, my friend and mentor, and two good friends first met at the Boston NARTS conference (Glenda and Carolyn), a day enjoyed with my sister, Nanci, and the very first day I met my bff, Cathy.