The Two Best Gestures
What makes these two gestures the best gestures for you? If you hold up the number one sign with your index finger, or use an OK sign, or even give a thumbs-up gesture, you are offending someone is some country. These two gestures offend nobody in any country around the world.
Using the two gestures in the pictures below will offend nobody. I will generally make a gesture with my palm showing. I will hold it still for a second or two, and I will then transition and touch my thumb to my four fingers and then immediately show the back-hand gesture. I will hold the backhand gesture still for a couple of seconds, and then drop the gesture into my park position.
Do Not Move Your Gestures Too Much
When most people raise a gesture, they move their hands with every word. There are times when you will move your hand quite a bit, and you will do so with rhythm and timing, but there is a great deal of credibility and power achieved by holding your gesture still as you speak.
Once you perfect holding your gestures still as you speak, you are once again able to separate your words from your physical body. You can now begin using gestures that move with a nice tempo and grace.
When to use Two-Handed Gestures
Do not begin a speech or presentation using a two-handed gesture. It comes off as too much too soon. Use your two-handed gestures once the audience is warm to you. Use the two-handed gesture at the end of the presentation for the more passionate climactic parts of the address.I always start performances in the park position with no gestures. Then, after 20-30 seconds, I use a single-handed gesture. After that, two-handed gestures are OK.
Gesture Equally with your Right and Left Hand
As you develop more advanced speaking skills, you will be able to up your game by making an equal amount of single are gestures with your left and right hand. Most of us are right-handed, and it takes a conscious effort to use the left hand when gesturing. The same goes for a left-handed person, as they must also remember to use their right hand to gesture equally.
Quite often, amateur speakers will use one gesture over and over again. Repeating only a straightforward gesture, time, and time again can become distracting and annoying.
Gesturing equally with both hands is why it is crucial to make gestures simple, by doing three things:
1) Let the elbow do most of the work.
2) Concentrate on the pinky finger.
3) Do not try and time your gestures with your words.
There is enormous power in dropping a gesture and going back to the Park position. When you are in the Park position and begin to make a gesture, the slower the raising of the gesture, the better. However, when you drop your gesture to go back to the Park position, gravity drops your arms like a rock. You never move your arm down slowly with control. You let gravity drop your hand and arm naturally. Quite often, your arm will slightly sway because you should have no tension in your upper body.
When you drop your arm and hand, and they sway because there is no tension, this shows the audience you are comfortable speaking. Please understand that world-class speeches are about how you raise the gesture and how you release the arms back to the park position.
Remember! Park, Drive, and then Park again. Then repeat!
Nobody on planet Earth understands how incredibly effective dropping the gesture back to a tension-free arm is to an audience, but me, and now you.
Watch the video of how The Speech Doctor drops his gestures.
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