Communication Tip: Maximizing Communication With Gestures

My first job out of graduate school was teaching English to 18-20 year-old Japanese adults living outside of Boston Massachusetts. I remember the first day when twenty some-odd people looked at me with fear and curiosity. It wasn't your ordinary English class. It took place in the auditorium where we had a big open room. They barely could peep a word of English and it was my job to bring them out of their shells through music and drama. The first thing I asked them to do was to create a physical machine with each of them playing one part in the mechanism. They were to choose a movement and repeat it until everyone was participating. The second exercise I had them do was a non-verbal role play designed to encourage them to find words they could then associate with their gestures—all with the hope they would begin on a road to confidence and self-expression. Looking back on those classes, I can say I was quite ambitious. But, I can also say that they were courageous and successful in taking that first step towards spoken English. Evidence has shown that when we use hand gestures, we help retrieve words from our brain. So next time you are lost for words, call upon your gestures to help you communicate. To be added to Lanartco's Communication Performance Tip of the Week, please connect to this link or send your email address to info@lanartco.com.