In our public speaking courses in London, we explore all forms of public speaking techniques. Here we focus on the speaker's hands.
Hand gestures are a large part of your public speaking skill set. Their use must be balanced and appropriate for what you're trying to achieve. If they're out of balance with what you're saying, you'll look like a fish out of water. "Fit the word to the action and the action to the word," said Mr Shakespeare.
It's simple, less is more, but also understand your audience. In the US, it seems acceptable to spell things out to people. If you have three good reasons, putting up three fingers is what they'll do. British speakers don't seem to enjoy that particular piece of body language, but best to settle for the accepted norm.
Many years ago, one of my students told me that he had been taught body language by 'an expert', but he was disappointed that he didn't do so well in his club speaking contests. I observed his following competition speech with studied concentration.
There was a moment when he said, 'there was a global problem', and he stepped forward and made a circular gesture the size of a football. I wouldn't say I liked it, and it looked contrived.
A few minutes later, he said, "it's a problem that encompasses all continents." Again, he stepped forward and made an enormous circular gesture. I was not too fond of that either, it looked contrived again.
Finally, he said, 'it's a global problem on a worldwide scale (a tautology), and he stepped forward and spread his hands in the broadest circle possible. Not only did it look contrived, the judges seriously disliked it because of its unnatural nature.
You do not need a gesture for everything. Hand gestures must be balanced with your words. Contrived hand gestures will put a question mark in the minds of the audience, and they'll be concerned about the depth of your sincerity. Do not practice hand gestures. Be natural.
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