When my father was alive, he had a few simple rules by how you could judge people.
First, he was big on eye contact. Did the person keep his attention on you?
Then the handshake: It had to be firm. "Anything less tells the person you're not that interested in them," he would say.
And finally, something more subtle, does the person smile? Does he have a sense of humor? My Dad liked to be around funny people.
I guess what got me thinking about this was an event I attended this morning. Some Wall Street pros were outlining their vision for the markets (search) for the next few months.
First off, no one was smiling. That had me worried. And those who did shake hands, did so quickly, and I might add, limply.
And finally when it came to some investors' questions about where they should put their money, one speaker's eyes were all over the place.
I just got a weird feeling. But here was the clincher. There so happened to be a Boy Scout troop there that was interested in learning about investing and the troop leader wanted to know if one of the speakers could answer questions from the kids.
"No," was the flat response. "This is for paying investors only," he said.
When the leader informed him "he" was an investor and had a sizeable account, still the same reaction. Not even a sorry, just "no."
The kids seem dejected.
And I felt bad. I invited them all to come to FOX. Turns out they love this channel. Not so much "me," mind you. Several had a thing for E.D. Hill, and one kid, in particular said he'd do anything to get a picture with Heather Nauert. Still, one remembered, "you're not so bad... you get great e-mail and I love your Victoria's Secret stuff."
Then I talked to the troop leader.
"I'm a little surprised you were treated so poorly," I said.
"They'll be too," he answered.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I’m closing out my account here," he answered.
"You think they'll care?” I said.
"They will when they find out it's $12 million," he replied.
And then I thought, if only those guys had smiled.
Watch Neil Cavuto's Common Sense weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on Your World with Cavuto.