I’m a body language expert – this common hand gesture can make you come across as arrogant

By GINA KALSI

Published: 12:46 BST, 3 May 2025 | Updated: 13:04 BST, 3 May 2025

A body language expert has revealed the hand gesture that can make you come across as arrogant and conceited.

Adrianne Carter, a UK-based body language and communications expert told her 668,000 followers on TikTok to use the signal ‘with caution’. 

The steeple hand position, also known as pyramid hands, involves placing the fingertips of both hands together to form a triangular shape.

While sometimes this can be completely harmless, especially if the person does it frequently, Adrienne warned that it could be a sign that someone is perhaps a little too full of themselves. 

She said that the person who will do this hand movement is most likely very confident or often the leader in a certain situation, for example in a meeting at work. 

Adrienne told her TikTok page: ‘The person in the room who is feeling confident and often the leader in the room and the decision maker will often do this to show their confidence, sometimes naturally, sometimes on purpose. 

‘When that gesture is overdone or overused, it can actually make the person look arrogant.

‘So if it’s something you do naturally, fine, but keep an eye on it, and if it’s something you’re doing on purpose, then just be careful not to overuse it.’ 

Adrianne Carter, a UK-based body language and communications expert told her 668,000 followers on TikTok to use the signal ‘with caution’

Adrienne’s video racked up thousands of likes and comments on TikTok, with some expressing their thoughts on the gesture. 

One wrote: ‘My ex husband used to do this all the time.’

Another penned: ‘Also it can intimidate others.’ 

A third said: ‘I do this when nervous.’

A fourth commented: ‘This is something I recognise someone else having done a lot but who I no longer work with.’ 

Another body language expert, Vanessa Van Edwards, from California, also spoke about the steeple hand position in the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett.

She said that the signal is good if you want to be perceived as higher in competence than other people, calling it a ‘power pose for the hands’.

‘Personally, I don’t use this a lot in my interpersonal interactions because it doesn’t feel super natural to me,’ she admitted.

Adrienne’s video racked up thousands of likes and comments on TikTok, with some expressing their thoughts on the gesture

Adrienne’s video racked up thousands of likes and comments on TikTok, with some expressing their thoughts on the gesture

Vanessa added: ‘If you were doing this pose, you’re showing that you’re not hiding anything, you can still see my palms but I am very relaxed and poised.

‘They rated hand gestures in a study and they found that [the steeple] was the highest rated hand gesture that leaders made. 

However, she did warn people to be vigilant when putting your hands in the steeple position. 

Vanessa jokingly said: ‘Be careful, don’t drum [them] – that’s evil fingers,’ hinting that you would like a villain. 

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I’m a body language expert – this common hand gesture can make you come across as arrogant

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