People who talk with their hands seem more clear and persuasive – new research

When people use hand gestures that visually represent what they’re saying, listeners see them as more clear, competent and persuasive. That’s the key finding from my new research published in the Journal of Marketing Research, where I analyzed thousands of TED Talks and ran controlled experiments to examine how gestures shape communication .

Talking with your hands

Whether you’re giving a presentation, pitching an idea or leading a meeting, you probably spend most of your prep time thinking about what you’ll say. But what about the ways you’ll move your hands?

I grew up in Italy, where gesturing is practically a second language. Now that I live in the United States, I’ve become acutely aware of how cultures differ in how, and how much , people move their hands when they talk. Still, across contexts and cultures, one thing is constant: People do talk with their hands.

As someone who studies communication , I’d noticed how some speakers seemed instantly clearer when they gestured. This made me wonder: Do gestures actually make communicators more effective?

The short answer is yes, but only when the gestures visually represent the idea you’re talking about. Researchers call these movements “ illustrators .” For example:

• When talking about distance, you might spread your hands apart while saying something is “farther away.”

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