Hands Down

By Dustin Koch

How often do you use your hands while you are talking?  When you do use your hands while talking, does it enhance your message and make it clearer or is it a distraction?  Are you even aware that your hands are fluttering about while you speak?  What about when you catch people doing it around you; does it make them seem enlightened somehow or does it make you want to tie their hands behind their back?  Is there a name for this compulsion people have to keep their hands in motion during a conversation?
Everyone participates in this phenomenon to some degree.    Many people have an impulse to exaggerate and animate their discussions by using hand shapes to accentuate what they are saying: “I once caught a fish ‘this’ big.”  Then there are situations where people use their hands so they do not have to say anything at all: “Talk to the hand.”  
Gestures and signs can be beneficial at times when people simply cannot voice their message. Consider the way you would say goodbye to someone driving away in a car; a wave would emit your message clearly, wouldn’t it?  If asked whether you like the food you’re chewing while you have a mouthful, an “A-OK” or a “thumbs-down” gesture would answer that question without the need to speak.
It is also important to notice that using gestures can enhance body language and body language is a valuable part of communication.  If a man points at his wrist and shrugs his shoulders, you’re more likely to perceive his behavior as non-threatening than intrusive.  He’s obviously asking you what time it is. On the flip side to that thought, gestures can also show how threatening someone can be if the same man were to shake a fist at you.    
People in general are somewhat limited in hand shapes because there are only so many established within American culture.  The “thumbs-up” sign can be recognized by Americans because they may associate it with the trademarked phrase coined by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel: “Two thumbs up!” or the supportive cheer for Texas A&M: “Gig ‘em, Aggies!” However, in the Eastern cultures of Iran, Iraq or Thailand it is considered an obscene gesture, equivalent to “flipping the bird” at someone. So, while there are only so many signs to go around, those that are well known go around more than enough.  
After studying the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication, author of the book “Non-Verbal Communication”, Albert Mehrabian determined that 55 percent of all communication comes from body language.
Using hand shapes as a form of communication is quite common, but what causes certain people to depend so much on moving their hands around while talking instead of keeping them immobile? Do women gesture more than men or is it the other way around? Do certain cultures use gestures more than others? Is it just a nervous habit that stems from social insecurity or a good way to accentuate a point? Is there a name for this compulsion people have to keep their hands in motion during a conversation?
Next time you are in a lengthy conversation with someone, pay close attention to all of the non-verbal clues given during the discussion, especially hand gestures.  Often they speak louder than words.