The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

each point and then give the opposing points on the

other hand. Right-handed people reserve their favoured point

of view for their right hand and left-handers favour their

left.

On the Other Hand, Gestures Improve Recall

Using hand gestures grabs attention, increases the impact of
communication and helps individuals retain more of the infor-
mation they are hearing. At the University of Manchester in
England, Geoffrey Beattie and Nina McLoughlin conducted a
study where volunteers listened to stories featuring cartoon
characters such as Roger Rabbit, Tweetie Pie and Sylvester the
Cat. For some listeners, a narrator added hand gestures such
as moving the hands up and down quickly to show running, a
waving movement to demonstrate a hair dryer and arms wide
apart to show a fat opera singer. When the listeners were
tested ten minutes later, those who had seen the hand gestures
had up to a third higher response when recalling the details of
the stories, demonstrating the dramatic effect hand gestures
have on our recall ability.

In this chapter, we'll examine 15 of the most common hand
gestures you're likely to see every day and we'll discuss what to
do about them.

Rubbing the Palms Together

Recently a friend visited us at home to discuss our forthcom-
ing skiing holiday. In the course of the conversation she sat
back in her chair, smiled broadly, rubbed her palms together
rapidly and exclaimed, 'I can hardly wait!' With her Raised-
Palms-Rub she had told us non-verbally that she expected the
trip to be a big success.