A recent scientific study showed that using hand movements while speaking contributes to enhancing persuasion and increasing the speaker’s credibility with the audience, confirming that thoughtful gestures are an essential part of body language that supports verbal expression and gives the speaker a stronger presence and deeper influence.
According to Newsweek, researchers from the University of British Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California conducted an extensive study, the first of its kind, to analyze hand movements on a large scale, based on previous research that dealt with speech patterns and facial expressions.
Mei Zhou, an information systems researcher at the University of British Columbia, explained that audiences often associate the use of hands while speaking with depth of understanding and familiarity with the topic, noting that a speaker who embodies his ideas visually is seen as more knowledgeable and able to simplify concepts.
The study relied on artificial intelligence techniques to analyze more than two thousand lectures from the TED Talks platform, where the results showed that conscious and purposeful gestures can constitute an effective tool for increasing influence and persuasion in human communication.
