GESTURES

YOUR BODY SPEAKS

Act

ions

Speak

Louder

then W

ord

s

More than half of all human communication

takes place nonverbally.

You are constantly sending

nonverbal messages –

even as you read these

words. When you speak in public,

your listeners judge you

and your message based

on what they see as well

as on what they hear.

It’s in the Palm of Your HandHands Up!, Reading Palms and

Letting Fingers Do the Talking.

Hands Up!Hiding your hands, The folded

hand and Hands clenched.

Hands

Up! Second only to your

face, your hands are

your most visually expressive feature.

They serve as a substitute for words as

well as support spoken

words.

Hid

ing y

our

hands

Concealed/Hidden hands

express I don’t want to talk!

The f

old

ed h

and

Folded hands reveals frustration

or hostility and signals that the

person is holding a negative attitude.

Hands

clench

ed

Clenched hands show

that a person is scared, nervous, or holding back a strong

negative emotion.The tighter the clench,

the stronger the emotion.

Hands

clench

ed

Hands in the clenched raised

position indicate negativity.

Reading PalmsThe open palm, The downward

facing palm and Closed-palm, finger-pointed.

The o

pen p

alm

The open palm indicates

honesty and trust-worthiness.

The o

pen p

alm

The raised open palm draws

your audience in.

The D

ow

nw

ard

fa

cing p

alm

The downward facing palm

conveys dominance and control.

Clo

sed-p

alm

, finger-

poin

ted

The closed-palm, pointed-finger

is threatening and aggressive.

Letting the Fingers Do the Talking

The precision grip, The power

grip, The power chop and The steeple.

The p

recisio

n

grip

The thumb and

forefinger not

touching shows

hesitancy or

uncertainty.

The precision grip

demonstrates

exactness.

The p

ow

er

gri

p People who want to be

perceived as strong,

serious, and forceful

use their whole fist to

make a point.

The p

ow

er

chop

The chopping gesture

demonstrates clear conviction.

The s

teeple Confident and superior

types of people whose

gesture tend to be minimal or restricted

‘steeple’ their fingers

to demonstrate their

confident attitude.

The s

teeple

The lowered steeple indicates a

listening attitude.

Standing Your GroundShowing Commitment and

Attitude through Your Stance and

Reflecting Your Feelings by the

Way You Position Your Feet.

Showing Attitude through Stance

Straddle stance and Parallel stance.

Str

addle

sta

nce

The straddle stance strongly

coveys messages of dominance

and power.

Para

llel s

tance

The parallel stance is a sign of

Uncertainty and submission.

Reflecting Feelings by the Position of Your Feet

Pointing towards the desired

place, Fidgeting feet, Twitching,

flicking or going in circles.

Poin

ting t

ow

ard

s th

e d

esi

red p

lace

The woman indicating that

she’d like to leave while the

man wants to hold her attention.

Fidgeti

ng f

eet Fidgeting feet indicate

someone’s impatience

threshold.Tapping, hanging foot

up and down, or back

and forth are examples of fidgeting

feet.