7 Hand Gestures You Should Be Using

Want to be more memorable? Try using these 7 hand gestures.

By Vanessa Van Edwards

Do you know how to speak with your hands?

Once we realized the importance of the TED speaker’s body language, we decided to look for specific nonverbal patterns that the top TED Talks had different from the bottom TED Talks. One thing became quickly clear: The more hand gestures, the more successful the Talk. There was a direct correlation between the number of views on a TED Talk and the number of hand gestures. Holler and Beatie found that gestures increase the value of our message by 60%! Leaders use specific hand gesture patterns. In summary:

  • The least popular TED Talkers used an average of 124,000 views and used an average of 272 hand gestures during the 18 minute talk.

  • The top TED Talks had an average of 7,360,000 views and used an average of 465 hand gestures—that’s almost double!

By the way, Temple Grandin, Simon Sinek and Jane McGonigal topped the hand gesture charts with over 600 hand gestures in just 18 minutes. Why do we think this is? Our hands are a nonverbal way to show and build trust–studies have found that when we see someone’s hands, we have an easier time trusting them. Also, when someone uses their hands to explain a concept, we have an easier time understanding them. Speakers who use hand gestures are speaking to their audience on 2 levels–verbally and nonverbally.
Bottom Line: To be a good speaker, let your hands do the talking.

The TED research shocked us and brought up tons of questions:

  • Why are hand gestures so important?

  • What are the most popular hand gestures?

  • How can everyone use their hand gestures to go viral?

We broke down all of the most popular TED Talks and major speeches from the last 5 decades and synthesized them into the top 20 hand gestures you can use. But first, some background:

Crazy Facts About Hand Gestures:

  • You’re born to speak with your hands. Researchers have found that infants who use more hand gestures at 18-months old have greater language abilities later on. Hand gestures speak to great intelligence. Check out this adorable baby using hand gestures to the Itsy Bitsy Spider:
  • Hand gestures make people listen to you. Spencer Kelly, associate professor of Psychology and co-director of the Center for Language and Brain at Colgate University found that gestures make people pay attention to the acoustics of speech. Kelly said, “Gestures are not merely add-ons to language – they may actually be a fundamental part of it.”
  • We can’t help it. Hand gestures come to us naturally. Spencer even found that blind people use hand gestures when speaking with other blind people.
  • Gesturing helps you access memories. Using hand gestures while you speak not only helps others remember what you say, it also helps you speak more quickly and effectively!
  • Nonverbal explanations help you understand more. One study found that forcing children to gesture while they explained how to solve math problems actually helped them learn new problem-solving strategies.

 

How to Speak With Your Hands:

Use your hand gestures responsively. Safe gesturing only please. Before we get into the top hand gestures you can use, let’s talk about using your hands appropriately:

  • Stay in the box. I never want you to think in the box, but I do want you to gesture within the box. Appropriate hand speaking space is from the top of your chest to the bottom of your waist. If you go outside this box, it’s seen as distracting and out of control. Here’s the difference:
  • There is a spectrum. Hand gestures are great up to a certain point. I call this the Jazz Hands Spectrum:

 

  • Make your gestures purposeful. Just like you bullet point out a pitch or presentation, do the same with gestures. The best Ted Talkers used their hands purposefully to explain important points. Use the list below to guide you.
  • Know what you want to say. If you have a big speech coming up, prepare your words, otherwise your gestures can try to overcompensate. According to Elena Nicoladis, a researcher at the University of Alberta who studies hand gestures, people who have trouble finding the right words are more likely to speak with their hands.
  • The more smooth the better. We love fluid hand gestures. Jerky and robotic prepared moves are distracting. Practice speaking with your hands until it feels and looks natural.
  • Film yourself. Film yourself chatting with someone on the phone. You might be surprised what kinds of gestures you use and how many you use during the conversation. Then, film your speeches and elevator pitch. Have a friend give you feedback on your gestures.
  • Be careful cross-culturally. Not all hand gestures are created equal!

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