What should you do with your hands while you speak? Careful use of gesturing can help you effectively convey your message.

Gestures are as necessary to your speech as your words. Used effectively, they serve to highlight and emphasize the points you consider important. They should be large enough to be meaningful, but not so large as to be distracting. Meaningless gestures - those unrelated to what is being said - will only detract attention from your words and undermine your message.

"What do I do with my hands?" is probably the most frequent question I am asked in my workshops. Hand gestures are not difficult to control. A simple rule is to keep all movements natural and comfortable. Establish the habit because when you are excessively nervous you won't have the faintest idea what your hands are doing as you speak.

You can use your hands in many ways. The following suggestions offer several possibilities. Practice them until they feel natural. Once you are comfortable with these gestures, be sure to vary them as you speak. Repeating the same gesture over and over can be as distracting as gestures that are meaningless or too broad.

Let both arms hang by your side. This may feel uncomfortable at first but that will become more comfortable with practice.

Keep one hand down and the other at waist level.

Hold both hands at waist height, using one or both to emphasize your point.

Keep elbows free of your body, not clamped tightly to your waist or ribs.

Hands should be relaxed and open.

Building the Power of Your Voice: How to Improve Your Voice to Command Attention & Move People to Action by Dr. June Johnson provides professionals with additional tools that will allow them to perfect their professional speaking.
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