What's in a handshake? As a near-universal gesture of "accommodation" handshaking is a relatively new cultural behavior. Its original purpose was to prove to others you were coming "open-handed" and unarmed. It took off only a few hundred years ago. As far as I know, it was the English we have to give credit for it. The English of that time were world travelers, and the convention spread like wildfire. Right from the start some rules accompanied it. They weren't chiseled in stone, but they were general guides on how to conduct a handshake.
There are three main conventions.
1. The way you extend the hand
2. The way you apply the pressure
3. The length of time you shake the hand