How to correctly use oratorical gestures. Gesture development

Gesture is a movement (action) to express an emotion or information instead of a conversation, or during a conversation. The action or movement of the human body or part of it has a certain meaning or meaning, that is, a sign or symbol.

Sign language is rich in ways people express a wide variety of emotions and meanings, such as images, hostility, friendliness or approval towards others. Most people use gestures and body language in addition to words when speaking. Many gestures are used by people subconsciously. Some ethnic groups are thought to use gestures more than others, and the culturally acceptable amount of gesturing differs from one place to another.

History of Gesture Research

Gestures have been studied for several centuries from different perspectives. Even in ancient times, gestures were considered one of the most important components of rhetorical speech, and their correct use was a means of success for a speaker. Significant attention was paid to gestures in the works of ancient Greek philosophers: Demosthenes, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. During the Roman Empire, during a period of turbulent political life, which included popular discussion of state laws and debates in the Senate, political eloquence developed most intensively. Ancient Roman philosophers, politicians and orators, such as Cicero, Seneca, Quintilian and others, highlighted the characteristic features of early Roman oratory, in which gesture occupied an important place.

In the Middle Ages, the study of gestures continued. So in 1644 John Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures and the conditions for their use and published a guide to the use of gestures in order to increase the level of eloquence and understanding of public speaking. 1832 Andrea de Joria published a detailed account of the expression of gestures.

It is believed that speech comes from manual gestures. The first “theory of gestures” belongs to the 18th century philosopher and priest, the abbot of Condillac. This theory was revived in 1973 by American language origin historian Gordon W. Hughes. According to his hypothesis, human spoken speech was preceded by sign language, which began to spontaneously emerge 3 million years BC. e. Then sign language began to be supplemented by a language with 20-40 sounds. Just 100 thousand years BC. That is, the speech of sounds has finally supplanted sign language. Sound speech began to develop intensively only in the last 100 - 40 thousand years BC. e.

Kukish

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In general, this gesture is characteristic of many cultures. In Rus', they probably learned about the fig from visiting Germans, who tried to seduce Russian young ladies with such a vulgar gesture. There is even a version that “fig” arose from the German expression fick-fick machen (this was the traditional German invitation to intimacy). In the Russian tradition, the symbol of this gesture (probably thanks to highly moral Russian women) was transformed into a designation of categorical refusal. Moreover, over time, “fig” began to be used as a protective remedy against evil spirits: apparently, due to their promiscuity, expats from German lands were equated with demons

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Gesture processing in the brain

Scientists have long known that recognition of speech and written characters occurs in the same parts of the brain, since both methods of communication between people are subject to certain rules of grammar and have the same vocabulary inherent in them.

Modern research conducted by scientists from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the United States aimed to find out how certain lobes of the brain are associated with the processing of human gestures that are not directly related to language, but carry a meaning that is understandable to everyone and without the need to translate it into language of words and letters. Two types of gestures were used - pantomimes, with the help of which people imitate objects or actions, and gestures, emotionally and abstractly symbolizing the messages that people exchange when communicating. Scientists have found that human gestures, like spoken words or written symbols, are processed by the same parts of the brain - the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area) and the posterior middle temporal gyrus, the posterior superior temporal sulcus and the superior temporal gyrus (Wernicke's area). This may indicate the evolutionary prerequisites for the emergence of language and speech among human ancestors. Because these parts of the brain have long been known to scientists as speech centers involved in recognizing words and selecting the most appropriate meanings for them from the stock available in the brain. Today, scientists believe that these areas of the brain are responsible for identifying the meaning of any new sign received. If this theory is correct, then our modern speech centers, according to Dr. Allen Brown, are the product of the evolution of these lobes of the brain, capable of processing the meaning of both words and gestures.

How to recognize truth and lies from a person

Purple color in human psychology - what does it mean who likes it?

It is quite simple to recognize a person’s sincerity or deception by facial expressions and gestures:

• When people tell the truth, they look the other person in the eyes, their palms are open and visible. The person turns his whole body towards the interlocutor, the soles of his feet are also directed towards the communication partner. The pace of his speech is calm and even.
• If a person is deceiving, he will avoid eye contact. During the conversation, he will turn away from the interlocutor, touch his face (adjust his glasses, touch his nose, cover his mouth with his hand). His speech will be confused.

Interesting. When little children lie, they cover their mouths with their hands because they know that lying is wrong. Adults have great control over their body, so the desire to stop the flow of false speeches manifests itself in an erased form: touching various parts of the face.

Deceives

Classification of gestures

In the scientific literature, there are various approaches to identifying different types of gestures.

Conditional and unconditional gestures

Conventional gestures are gestures used by certain peoples, social or professional groups (saluting in the military; nodding the head in Ukrainian - “yes”, in Bulgarians - “no”, etc.).

Unconditional gestures are gestures that perceive everything without prior explanation. Among them are:

1. pointing gestures, during which a person shows with his hand the location of an object (“there”, “here”);
2. descriptive gestures depicting the nature of the movement (he said “watermelon” and made a circle with his hand);
3. expressive gestures (threat gesture);
4. rhythmic gestures merge with the rhythm of sound, words, emphasizing all its rhythm (gesture-conductor while chanting words);
5. imitation gestures reflecting the gestures of another person (“He made his head like this and said…”) ..

Sign and non-sign gestures (they are distinguished by their role in communication)

Iconic gestures are directly related to the transfer of information and have a content plan; gestures are distinguished:

• demonstratives, the function of which is to highlight some part of the space around the speaker;
• pictorial (iconographic), which always have a real prototype, the features of which are attempted to be conveyed by the one who is gesturing;
• symbolic, usually have an abstract meaning, they are only traditionally attributed to a specific gesture and therefore are understood within one team (in the general case, within national boundaries). The difference between figurative and symbolic gestures is well illustrated by the difference between pictographic and ideographic writing: a figurative gesture is a pictogram, a symbolic gesture is a hieroglyph.

Unfamiliar gestures include:

• rhythmically. The rhythm of an utterance in colloquial speech is a uniform alternation of acceleration and deceleration, which is created and emphasized by the repetition of the same type of intoneme and at the same time the same gesture in some cases and switching to a new type of intoneme and, accordingly, a new type of gesture in others.
• emotional - gestures are purely individual, their use largely depends on the skills and character of the speaker. An emotional gesture is “read” in accordance with facial expressions and intonation of speech.

Tearing the shirt on the chest

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It was probably originally an impromptu oath. There is a hypothesis that with such an expressive gesture our ancestors showed their belonging to the Orthodox faith, showing a cross. In addition, it is known that during executions and some corporal punishments, the executors tore the top of the shirt of the punished person. So, the voluntary tearing of clothes as a persuasive argument was intended to show a person’s readiness to climb to the chopping block for the truth.

Hand gestures

In communication, the most common gestures are those involving movements involving the hands. There are more than two thousand of them. During any performance, the hand gesture from the elbow looks quite natural, which corresponds to logical emphasis and is well perceived by the public. The hand gesture from the shoulder can be used at the moment of greatest emotional upsurge. The most commonly used hand gestures are:

1. hands clasped behind the back - refusal of objective activity;
2. showing palms is a symbol of openness;
3. fingers clenched into a fist - an aggressive gesture;
4. arms crossed on the chest - a manifestation of protection;
5. covering your ears with your hands - reluctance to listen;
6. hands on knees - the desire to stop the conversation;
7. hand on cheek - deep in thought.

Since ancient times, people have believed in the magical power of the hand. In the archaic day, the main binary oppositions took shape, including “right - left”. In particular, the right symbolized correct actions, truth, and the left symbolized the opposite. Consequently, some peoples associated greater functions with the right hand. For Muslims, the right hand is considered clean, so it is customary to use it to greet guests and eat food; The Mongols received and gave gifts and gave something away.

The movements of the fingers also acquired no less symbolic meaning. Let us recall the common phraseology “explain on your fingers,” which means making the material as accessible as possible to the public. Finger gestures form the basis of the so-called dactyl language for the deaf and dumb - a finger combination that corresponds to a letter of a certain language. So, Roman numerals are a simplified diagram of all five fingers. For example, the left side of the number V is associated with the thumb, and the right with the other four; X is two quintuples, schematically opposed along the vertical axis of symmetry. Finger gestures can become intermediaries between people who communicate in different national languages. In particular, the meaning of gestures depicting actions - drinking, eating, smoking, shooting - is understandable to absolutely all people. However, sometimes representatives of different cultures assign different meanings to the same gesture:

1. a thumbs up in America, Australia, England and New Zealand can mean an attempt to stop the car and “everything is fine”; in Greece - “shut up”; Italians have the number “1”;
2. turning the index finger at the temple in Holland - someone said a witty phrase; among the Slavs - about a person who is not himself;
3. tapping your nose with your index finger in Italy means distrust; among the Dutch, the speaker or the one being spoken about is tipsy;
4. the thumb and index finger folded in a semicircle in the USA means “everything is fine”; in the south of France - “bad”, “zero”; in Japan - “give me some money.”

Russian bow

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In Rus' it was customary to bow when meeting. But the bows were also different. The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.” Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. It is interesting that the gesture “from the heart to the earth” is originally Slavic, but “from the heart to the sun” is not. Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility before your interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the person in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.

Social intelligence

Social intelligence, which refers to social competence, is considered a basic intellectual ability that is distinct from other cognitive abilities. Associated with social intelligence is the concept of emotional intelligence, which characterizes a person’s ability to evaluate emotional messages, regulate their own emotions and wisely use them to manage their thoughts and actions.

To properly understand other people, you need to pay attention to their characteristics, including appearance and nonverbal behavior. Sometimes the information we get from observing a person is important in itself, regardless of what benefits may be drawn from it. Sometimes, having noticed something, we immediately draw a conclusion, and sometimes we notice something, but understanding does not come immediately.

However, communication skills are not limited to non-verbal messages. The verifier needs to understand the meaning of verbal messages—literal and metaphorical, as well as the nuances of what is read “between the lines”—and integrate verbal and nonverbal cues. It is also necessary to understand social contexts and roles: what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in a particular social situation, how people performing certain roles should behave, and what consequences follow from violating the expectations of others.

Concepts about nonverbal skills can be used to bring new perspective to long-established concepts. Empathy, rapport, adjustment, and leading, along with processes such as social comparison and impression management, can be considered in terms of control over accuracy in sending or receiving nonverbal cues in social interaction.

Our ability to send and receive nonverbal signals is developed in the course of everyday life. We, without realizing it, learn nonverbal behavior by imitating and modeling the behavior of other people, changing our actions taking into account the feedback we receive, and responding to the instructions and advice of others.

A person's nonverbal skills improve through varied experiences decoding feelings and nonverbal cues. Feedback in the form of discussion with participants about when their judgments of nonverbal behavior are correct and when they are incorrect is one of the most effective methods for improving nonverbal skills.

People who understand nonverbal cues and have good nonverbal communication skills are more difficult to manipulate than those who do not have such skills. If those who know a lot about nonverbal behavior begin to be suspected of using their knowledge “against” others, very soon attempts are made to expose them or counter this. It goes without saying that every verifier has an ethical responsibility to not use their knowledge to harm others.

Because verifiers spend a lot of time observing others—either passively (only observing) or actively (observing and interacting)—they somehow develop good skills in decoding the nonverbal messages of the observed objects.

Without a doubt, nonverbal cues are a critical element of our communication efforts. Sometimes they become the most important part of the messages we send. Understanding and effectively using nonverbal behavior is critical to achieving success in virtually all social interactions we engage in.

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