Interesting Tidbit

I remember my teacher in Speech class always telling us not to use our hands so much, that making hand gestures while talking was ineffective and distracting. I agree, to a certain extent; sometimes a gesture or two is OK when something needs to be further emphasized. Moving hands for no reason (nervous hand movements because you don't know what to do with yourself when you're talking) is just like white noise. Then, just recently, while flipping through a magazine, I found an interesting little bit of information:

*Gesturing as you speak may actually boost your communication skills. In a University of Alberta study in which people were asked to watch a cartoon and then describe it, those who used their hands to help express themselves recalled more than those who didn't. Notes lead study researcher Elena Nicoladis, Ph.D., "Gesturing can help you find the words you need."


So now I guess I can be a little less annoyed with people who use their hands all the time when talking...



*Research reported by Kimberly Tranell in October 2005 Glamour Magazine -- I told you I read gloss!