Want an Answer From Your Partner? Use Your Hands
Why hand gestures can move a conversation along
Awkward silence is…well…awkward. But it can be particularly annoying when you’ve asked your partner an important question and you’re getting the silent treatment — even if it doesn’t last long. To prevent this problem and ensure you get an answer to your questions quickly, research in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review suggests the best approach is to use your hands.
No, not that way.
Instead of suggesting we do anything naughty to get answers from our partner, researchers Judith Holler, Kobin Kendrick, and Stephen Levinson suggest that we leverage the power of hand gestures during our conversations. Why? Because when we use this form of nonverbal communication, it can increase the speed of language processing.
During their study, the researchers put together seven groups of three people and filmed them interacting with each other for 20 minutes. After the participants finished talking to each other, researchers analyzed the recorded question-response sequences and found that people were more likely to give answers to questions quickly when someone used hand gestures or nodded their head when asking them.
