How to use hand gestures to create more meaningful presentations and conversations

Creating a powerful message in a speech or interaction with another person can be invaluable and extremely fulfilling. When refining speaking skills, many professors and speakers will focus on perfecting language skills such as grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and complexity; however, what is often overlooked is the power of body language, in particular hand gestures, to enhance the meaning of what is being said.

Body language such as hand gestures (otherwise noted as gesticulations) can display and imply various information from the speaker. Professor of Psychology Susan Goldin-Meadow finds that gestures can express information that is inarticulated in speech but is part of the speaker’s thinking, structure, and actions. Moreover, gesturing has such a pronounced impact that FBI agents utilize body language analyses to criminalize potential threats. Though this is an extreme scenario, the prevalence of gesticulations in everyday life means that improving hand gestures can be an extremely valuable tool. 

According to Vanessa Van Edwards, a body language trainer, behavioral investigator, and public speaker, hand gestures are critical for charisma because they “show intention, explanation… and trust.” Furthermore, seeing the hands move in correspondence with words subconsciously has been shown to create a sense of understanding within the viewer. A study published in the Journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications by Professors of Psychology Seokmin Kang and Barbara Tversky demonstrates that an “integrated series of gestures congruent [resembling] with actions can deepen understanding” of those principles and ideas that the speaker is attempting to convey.

Because of the effectiveness of hand gestures to amplify and decorate the speaker’s message whilst consolidating a memorable interaction with the viewer, gesticulating should be mastered and used more prominently in all human interactions.

Principles of hand gesturing

Essentially there are no rules for how one is to use their hands; however, there are some guidelines that will yield more effective outcomes. These principles are that gestures should be natural and controlled, fill up space, and guide the audience through the experience.

If you are relaxed, you may notice when you start talking your hands will naturally start to move. Some may be better at using gesticulations than others, but this skill can be practiced. Using natural hand gestures means not forcing unnecessary movements that do not make sense in the context. For instance, if the conversation is intense, bold, and fast, you might benefit from using more dramatic, larger movements. Conversely, if the conversation is professional, more gestures may be necessary to show structure. 

Hand gestures should also be controlled movements that are done on purpose and are not erratic, jittery, or stiff. These uncontrolled movements signify a decreased confidence, and make the speaker look uncomfortable; consequently, when the speaker looks uncomfortable, the audience or listener typically starts to resonate that discomfort as well.

Another critical component of gesturing is to fill up space around you. Think about a “personal bubble” when speaking. When looking at presenters with their hands at their sides, trying to take up the least space possible, this shows a lack of confidence, leading to a boring, expressionless conversation or presentation. On the other hand, standing up straight, broad, and using your hands to expand your personal space can show confidence and make you a more dominating speaker. Specifically, Ronal Riggo, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology states that “expansive positions are associated with power and dominance and constricted positions with submissiveness.”

Furthermore, it is important to understand that the purpose of hand gestures is to guide the audience through the experience and message of the speaker. Whether talking with one other person or presenting to an audience, the goal is to transmit your words and feelings to the audience in the most efficient way that they can understand. When these hand gestures are natural, controlled, and take up space, it inspires interest in the viewer and helps them better internalize the message of the speaker. Seokmin Kang and Barbara Tversky, in their study, demonstrate the full extent of using guided hand gestures, finding that these gestures function to “instill deeper understandings” in which the students were able to recite more of the information presented in their “own words, gestures, and diagrams as well as in a test of knowledge.”

How specific gestures imply tone and power

After understanding some common principles for hand gestures, it is critical to understand how hand gestures can imply different tones. The three most common modes of gesticulating are with the open palm, palm down, or pointing.

Open palm includes facing your palms in the direction of the audience when you speak. This position implies a more casual tone, where the audience typically feels to be equal in terms of authority with the speaker. Professor of Psychology focusing on relationships and human communication, Allan Pease, illustrates this in a TED talk “Body language, the power is in the palm of your hands.” Essentially open palm inspires trust and friendliness because evolutionarily, humans subconsciously can see that the speaker is not concealing any weapon. This is interesting because it means that when the palm is faced towards the speaker themselves and not the audience, there is a subconscious relation that implies the person may be hiding something. Open palm is the most effective at retaining trust, and connecting in a way that is comfortable and meaningful for the viewers.