characteristics of effective Delivery 13.3 265
to convey an image of control and confidence while using flailing gestures
and awkward poses.
• Substituting. Not only can your behavior reinforce or contradict what you
say, but your gestures can also substitute for your message. Without utter-
ing a word, you can hold up the palm of your hand to calm a noisy crowd.
Flashing two fingers to form a V for “victory” and raising a clenched fist
are other common examples of how gestures can substitute for a verbal
message.
• Complementing. Gestures can also add meaning to your verbal message. A
politician who declines to comment on a reporter’s question while holding
up her hands to augment her verbal refusal is relying on the gesture to com-
plement or provide further meaning to her verbal message.
• Emphasizing. You can give emphasis to what you say by using an appropri-
ate gesture. A shaking fist or a slicing gesture with one or both hands helps
to emphasize a message. So does pounding your fist into the palm of your
hand. Other gestures can be less dramatic but still lend emphasis to what
you say. Try to allow your gestures to arise from the content of your speech
and your emotions.
• Regulating. Gestures can also regulate the exchange between you and your
audience. If you want the audience to respond to a question, you can ex-
tend both palms to invite a response. During a question-and-answer ses-
sion, your gestures can signal when you want to talk and when you want to
invite others to do so.use gestures effectIvely One hundred years ago, elocutionists taught
their students how to gesture to communicate specific emotions or messages.
Today teachers of speech have a different approach. Rather than prescribing
gestures for specific situations, they feel it is more useful to offer suitable crite-
ria (standards) by which to judge effective gestures, regardless of what is being
said. We present these guidelines in the How To box.
You also need to keep one important principle in mind: Use gestures that
work best for you. Don’t try to be someone you are not. President Barack
Obama’s style may work for him, but you are not Barack Obama. Your gestures
should fit your personality. It may be better to use no gestures—to just put your
hands comfortably at your side–than to use awkward, distracting gestures or to
try to counterfeit someone else’s gestures. Your nonverbal delivery should flow
from your message.
Movement
Should you walk around during your speech, or should you stay in one place?
If there is a lectern, should you stand behind it, or would it be acceptable to
stand in front of it or to the side? Is it all right to sit down while you speak? Can
you move among the audience, as several popular daytime hosts like to do? You