Quick Skills: High Five

What’s this? Quick skills are small challenges that are rewarding and once mastered you’ll have forever. You can add them to your arsenal of awesome in as little as five minutes.

Skill High Fiving.
Time to Learn 5 minutes.
Equipment A recipient. Hand.

At some point in your life you will do something awesome, and you need to be prepared for the inevitable congratulations that will ensure. You don’t want to mess this up. People expect awesome folk to know how to dish out and receive a solid high fiver.

Contrary to common sense, keep you eyes locked on your partner’s elbow, rather than hand. The elbow stays relatively static compared to the hand, so is an easier target to line up. Stay relaxed through the motion, and avoid tensing the muscles in your forearm and hand, since this will dissipate the sound and make it appear weaker. A bit of give not only allows the sound to develop, but will prevent long term injury. Do not follow through the motion, as you would in a dragon punch or hulk smash, since this focuses the energy beyond the high five and is detrimental to the sound.

A top high five shares the same acoustic characteristics of a good clap. The sound should be full bodied with a fast decay. It should be of interesting texture, but not be muddy and lingering. Xavier explains further in this video.

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Protips

• For a right handed high five, lead with your left foot.
• Maintain composure and play it cool after the high five, no matter how spectacular. It adds to the effect. A short recognition is acceptable—usually a nod, or “good”.
• If possible, ensure your hands are sufficiently warmed up, especially if multiple high fives are expected.
• 100% accuracy is a worthy goal, but unrealistic in practical settings. Don’t be afraid to repeat a sub-par effort; commitment to quality is always recognized.

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