Gestures

From "THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING"
Third Edition of Stephen E. Lucas
Page 244-245(Part Four Presenting the Speech)

Few aspects of delivery seem to cause students more anguish than deciding what to do with their hands. "Should I clasp them behind my back? Let them hang at my sides? Put them in my pockets? Rest them on the lectern? And what about gesturing? What should I do that---and how?"Even people who normally use their hands expressively in everyday converstion seem to regard them as awkward appplenages when speaking before an audience.

Over the years, more nonsense has been written about gesturing than about any other aspect of speech delivery. Adroit gestures can add to the impact of a speech; but there is nothing to the popular notion that public speakers must have a vast repertiore of graceful gestures. Some accomplished speakers gesture frequently; other hardly at all. The promary rule is this: Whatever gestures you make should not draw attention to themselves and distract from your message. They should appear natural and spontaneuos, help to clarify or reinforces your ideas, and and be suited to the audience and occasion.

At this stage of your speaking career, you have many more important things to concentrate on than how to gesture. Gesturing tends to work itself out as you acquire experience and confidence. In the meantime, make sure your hands do not upstage your ideas. Avoid flailing them about, writinging them together, cracking your knukcles, or toying with your rings. Once you have eeliminated these distractions, forget about your hands. Think about communicating with your listeners, and your gestures will probably take care of themselves---just as they do in conversation.