Published on 12, July, 2020
… this is how I as a kid used to call the nonverbal communication. I got interested again with this topic. I would like to know how much I’m missing. I found an article about the importance of nonverbal communication in life and business. Interesting for example I for years tried to figure out why people gesticulate with their hands while speaking. For me it feels irritating, it disturbs me, takes my attention and feels a bit like the speaker tries to force something (believe or view) on me and it doesn’t feel convincing to me at all. While for NTs it works. I’m curious what’s others here experience, impression and knowledge in this topic
Alienatedhuman said:I for years tried to figure out why people gesticulate with their hands while speaking. For me it feels irritating, it disturbs me,
My understanding is that the hand movements etc are supposed to clarify the meaning of what is being spoken - emphasising size, force, proximity etc but most of the time the hands have nothing material to support in the coversation and are just flapping about like dogs running around at the park, sniffing trees.
It is quite helpful where there is a language barrier or the other person is having trouble understanding you - it certainly helps me a lot when I'm travelling and my tourist language skills are woefully short of asking if the squid dish is tentacles or the head part - easy to mime with the hands
Funilly enough the more problem the speaker has in being understood, the more the hand gestures step up.
The reason it disturbs you I think would be because you don't understand it. Should you want to correct this there is a good article on it here that can point you in the right direction:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201307/the-neuroscience-speaking-your-hands
Thank you, I will read the article you posted, unfortunately I can’t post what I found idk why I can’t just paste the link here
Alienatedhuman said:I can’t post what I found idk why I can’t just paste the link here
If you want the content of the article then click and drag the cursor over the text you want and right click - copy to copy the text (assuming you are using a PC that is).
If it is the link then go to the page you want, select the address bar at the top of the page and copy that link (the https:// bit) to paste in your reply..