I Don’t Know What To Do With My Hands
How to get the most out of your best visual aids
Your Best Visual Aids
Forget about slides or props, your hands are the greatest visual aids you’ll ever have! When used effectively they can help emphasize and add congruence to your message. Reinforcing your ideas with good hand gestures will make your presentation more engaging and help your message land with the right impact.
Many people have been taught not to move their hands too much when presenting. This seems like good advice when you don’t know what to do with your hands but research shows that using your hands effectively is much more compelling to your audience.
A study of TED talks concluded that the most-watched TED talks averaged almost double the number of hand gestures as the least-watched talks. According to Vanessa Van Edwards, a consultant who studied the TED talks,
When really charismatic leaders use hand gestures, the brain is super happy, because it’s getting two explanations in one, and the brain loves that.
