What Does Using Hands Tell You?

Some time ago I became aware that I am a natural speaker at my hands or a so-called manual speaker. I gestured with my hands a lot when I talked. The gestures of the hands bring something to the expression that is not conveyed by mere words. When speech and gesture combine, a system is formed in which two different message channels support each other. Speech compresses matter into the form allowed by the structures of language, while the gesture brings with it properties that do not settle into the structures: the ways, directions, tones, attitudes of the event.

Talking with your hands, i.e. using your hands to gesture during speech, is especially evident when you want to convey a certain amount of energy in your speech, just as if you wanted to physically spread and push words into a conversation.

When I started a scientific study of hand gestures, I first thought that there is only a natural capacity for expression that every person has, but that manifests at different levels. Recent research suggests that talking at hand is an important part of social interaction and its role in conveying messages is greater than previously imagined.

From a social point of view, gesturing at hand can appear to many as unfamiliar as a mere distraction when it comes to communication. The effect of gesturing at hand depends on the situation and the person. Often, however, gesturing with hands during speech creates a certain kind of energy and power to speech, calm hand gestures causing the listener to focus their attention and listen to every word. Hands can increase the gravity of the message.

According to an article published by Forbes  magazine, people who use their hands to talk are often more charismatic than people who do not use their hands. Gesturing with your hands during a speech means a large amount of energy and charm.

Hand gestures help the speaker communicate better with the listeners, and give them a position of power in the group as they speak.

Because of all this, we often appreciate leaders who use a lot of hand gestures. The use of hand gestures convinces people quickly and often this is reflected, for example, in official speeches by the president and in speeches by other executives. People who control speaking by hand appear to the listeners as sincere people, as often a person cannot influence their own gesture: it is subconscious and expresses the listener’s self-confidence and transparency.

Business Insider columnist Annie Paul confirms that talking on hand is also associated with high intelligence and conversational skills.

According to a study by Albert Mehrabian, the power of a conveyed message is distributed as follows: 7% verbal, 38% vowel (sounds, emphasis) and 55% consist of gestures and signs, i.e. nonverbal language. Through this research, we understand that the verbal part of speech is used to convey information and the nonverbal part is used to convey personal feelings and activities. Mehrabian writes in his study that when two or more people take part in a conversation, 35% or even 65% of the conversation is speechless.

Everything in man is expressive. As we recognize the power of language, verbal or nonverbal, and nonverbal, our feelings sharpen and intelligence develops. Take a closer look at the use of the verbal language in the video below (in English) for tips on how to use it.

If you use your hands while communicating, enjoy it.