Pointing your finger at someone is a communications 101 no-no, and something that politicians, executives, and leaders are taught from day one.
“The point was not a gentle point … it was a jab, jab at you,” said Denise Dudley, a clinical psychologist and behavioral expert.
We see fingers (or pens) pointed at us as a threat, she added.
“When someone points at me that way, it’s too direct, it’s too aggressive,” Dudley said. “And in fact, when I teach passive-aggressive and assertive response styles, I always tell people, pointing at anyone is technically aggressive, unless you are truly trying to direct them to the bathroom.”
When someone points at us, it feels like they’re coming at us, Dudley noted.
“I’m sure, way before there were literally guns, that there were sharp sticks or something that when we saw somebody point something at us, it made us uncomfortable, including just a finger,” Dudley said. “So, I think it’s calling forth a lot of our fundamental evolutionary mammalian responses to that.”
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