Today, we are looking at hand gestures. Using gestures, when giving a public speech is a very important part of your public speaking. If you fail to use gestures properly and you do awkward gestures throughout your public speaking, you are probably going to distract your audience and you are not going to get the impact that you want when you are giving a speech.
Visually, people would have a different perception of you in a matter of two or three seconds. Here is some of the best hand gestures you can use to become a more effective communicator.
The Triangle
When your hands are in a triangle (this is sometimes known as a “hand steeple”) you appear more intelligent and knowledgeable in what you have to say. You can use this hand gesture in a meeting, on a phone call or in your every day conversation.
This gesture suggests that you’re an expert on the topic under discussion.
The Basketball
If you feel like the triangle makes you look over-confident, you can always open it up. Your hands are open and inviting but at the same time, you still look confident. When you open up your hands, as a leader, you appear friendly. You are still super confident but you are engaging your audience at the same time. To appear more friendly, all you have to do is keep your palms facing up. This gesture suggests that you’re being open and honest about what you’re saying.
The Cut
To appear more assertive, do the cut. You can cut down, you can cut up, you can cut anywhere you like basically. If you have the cutting motion with your palms, you are asserting the words a little more strictly. You want to look at the flow of the movement. To look more assertive, you can have short, staccato movement of cutting. To look more friendly, you can have a gradual flow of movement.
When you’re giving a presentation, your words matter. But the way you gesture with your hands also matters. You may not realize it, but your audience will derive a lot of meaning from the way you hold your hands. So it is important to be aware of what you’re communicating when you hold your hands in a certain way. Body language is very revealing!
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