5 Ways Your Hands Communicate When You Speak

During a training session, an executive asked, "Why does my upper body and head move around so much when I speak?

Another watching the playback of a presentation wanted to know, "Why are my shoulders shrugging more than usual, and why are my hands so fidgety?”

When you speak in meetings or you are on stage, you may experience a surge of adrenaline or a case of "nerves" as you present. Your body is reacting to the energy moving through you.

When energy flows, it can come out in different ways. Sometimes, you may shift your entire body forward and back or find yourself shrugging as if signaling an "I don't know" response. You may feel more fidgety (both hands and feet) than usual as your heart and your blink rate increase.

How do you recognize and redistribute this unharnessed energy?

Mastering Your Energy to Engage Your Audience

First, you should pay attention to the way you’re breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing helps you feel calm and relaxed before you speak, reducing the frenetic energy that comes with excitement and nerves.

Next, you should recognize where the energy goes and then you can learn to harness and direct the energy out of your body in a more natural way. For example, you can focus on your hands as an outlet. They help to illustrate, punctuate, and emphasize your words.

If you watch some of the most seasoned speakers, you’ll notice the fluid, and smooth hand movements they use when they speak at conferences or during interviews.

What are your hands doing when you speak? When you want to get into your Communications Flow you can’t restrict your hand movements.

For example, if you clasp your hands in a barrier-like fashion or cross your arms with your hands holding your arms, you're preventing your hands from a natural form of movement and expression.

In addition, restricting hand movement can also redirect the energy to leak out of your body somewhere else in an uncomfortable and unnatural way. The energy that builds in your body, whether it's excitement or fear, will leak out of your body showing how you really feel.

When you understand your energy and use your hands more effectively, you will speak more fluidly and gracefully, allowing you to capture your audience's attention.

Understanding Hand Gestures

Let's break down how to use your hands in five recognizable ways:

#1. Illustrators

Hand gestures can be like visual aids for your words. As illustrators, they can highlight key points, help explain abstract concepts, or show size, direction, and other details. When you use your hands as illustrators, they punctuate rhythmically (keeping a beat) and demonstrate word emphasis.

In addition, lively hand gestures can grab attention, add energy to your communication, and keep your audience engaged. You can become a more compelling and impactful speaker by incorporating illustrative hand gestures into your communication.

#2 Regulators

These gestures control the flow and pace of a conversation. At times, regulator hand movements signal you want to “take back” the conversation. Examples include:

• Open palms facing outwards can signal you want the other person to keep talking.
• A chopping motion with the hand might indicate you want to interrupt or change the subject.
• Steepling fingers with a slight pause can create a sense of anticipation.
• A forward hand with palm down is a pullback sign that you have a point of view to share.

#3. Emblems

Emblems directly convey a meaning on their own, often replacing spoken words. They can be cultural, so their meaning may vary depending on where you are in the world. Examples include:

• Thumbs up for approval or a thumbs down for disapproval.
• Peace sign.
• O.K. sign.
• Two crossed fingers for luck.

Remember, if you're traveling to different parts of the world, be careful to research what the different emblems represent. For example, a thumbs-up emblem is seen as positive in the U.S., but it may be seen as rude or as an insult in parts of Western Africa or the Middle East.

#4. Adapters:

You can manage stress or anxiety with adapters as gestures, which are self-soothing motions. However, they can be revealing, even if not consciously done. Examples include:

• Playing with your hair or a beard/mustache.
• Biting your nails.
• Rubbing your hands or thumbs together.
• Stroking your chin.
• Massaging your neck.

Adapters, when paired with other body language clusters of discomfort, can signal stress, doubt, fear or worry.

#5. Barriers

Hand barriers refer to gestures or hand positions that may create a physical barrier between you and the person you speak with. Hand barriers can subconsciously signal disinterest, defensiveness, or a desire for closed communication, unlike hand gestures used for illustration or emphasis.

In addition to the barriers mentioned earlier, other common hand barriers might include:

• Putting your hands behind your back is a sign of authority or nervousness, depending on the context.
• Holding objects in front of you, such as clutching a notebook, phone, or other object in front of your body can create a physical barrier and suggest a lack of openness.

Awareness of how your hands create barriers can help ensure you're sending the intended message and not signaling inadvertent, closed-off communication.

?In addition, hand barriers, when paired with other body language signals (in a small cluster), can signal discomfort in the person communicating.

Transforming Knowledge into Action

As you begin to channel energy and use your hands more effectively, you will show what's important as you speak. You’ll also learn how the different types of hand movements offer valuable insights into the thoughts and feelings of the people around you, even if they aren't saying much with their words.

Now, think about how you use your hands (or not) when you speak. One of the best ways to see how energy flows is to record yourself on video and watch the playback. You’ll learn and grow from the experience.

Hand gestures should be intentional and complement your speech, not contradict the messages you want to share. If you’re mindful of your hand movements, then you can use them strategically to enhance your communication.

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