PART II GESTURE CHAPTER I THE NATURE AND TECHNIC OF GESTURE THE USE OF GESTURE PEOPLE who speak in public generally make motions of some sort. Sometimes these motions are mere spasmodic jerks or flaps of the hand, as if the speaker desired instinctively to express himself visibly, but had no idea what movements to make. In other cases the speaker has converted that instinct into a single definite gesture, such as the clenched fist or the index finger, which is used to accompany (it cannot be said to express) ideas as varied as lofty mountains and stale doughnuts. Some speakers constantly wave their hands wildly and unmeaningly about the body, in the mistaken notion that a great display of energy has a con. vincing and persuasive effect. Still others make no gestures whatever, an unfortunate manner of delivery, but preferable, perhaps, to the use of distracting calisthenics, which frequently mar the style of otherwise good speakers. The person who speaks in public should make gestures; he misses a great advantage if he doesn't, but they must do more than serve as a mere outlet for nervous energy, more than furnish the stimulation which usually results from their reaction. They must speak distinctly to the audience; they must help to illuminate, vitalize, and enforce his verbal expression. This they can do, for gestures are not only constantly in evidence in our everyday life, but they are as organic a part of our intercommunication as is speech. One has but to watch the participants in the next few conversations he observes, or the next dramatic performance he attends to be impressed with the truth of this statement. We are continually emphasizing, locating, describing, or displaying a mental or emotional state by means of gesture. Many of us do it rather poorly, and this is particularly the case when we stand before an audience. So, there are few of us who cannot improve our speaking efficiency by acquiring a better understanding of this important phase of the speaker's art. To begin with, we should get a clear idea of the general nature and technic of the subject under consideration. For this purpose a brief definition, two important classifications, and a discussion of the technical essentials will serve. GESTURE Defined Gesture may be broadly defined as visible expression, that is, any posture or movement of the head, face, body, limbs, or hands, which aids the speaker in conveying his message by appealing to the eye. GESTURE CLASSIFIED Every speech contains expressions of two kinds one, referring to that which is material; the other, to that which is mental or emotional. For this reason it is desirable to make a corresponding classification of gesture. One class we may call literal; the other figurative. The term literal we apply to gestures when they refer to physical objects, to the material world. Indicating location or extent in space by a wave of the hand, picturing the striking of a man with the clenched fist, suggesting the joining of two armies by bringing the hands near together, these are typical examples of literal gestures. The term figurative we apply to gestures when they express mental or emotional states or actions which are analogous to physical states or actions. For instance, a lofty ambition is suggested by an ascending movement of the hand because it bears an obvious analogy to physical elevation; moral depravity is indicated by a descending movement for a similar reason. To illustrate the figurative gesture by a specific sentence, suppose a speaker wished to express the thought, "The member from Ohio defeated the bill at its first reading." A fitting gesture on this passage would be a descending front movement with the palm down. Why does that gesture mean anything to the audience? Is there between the defeating of a bill and the downward movement of the inverted hand some mysterious relationship which the speaker feels and the audience instantly solves? Not at all. The expressiveness of the gesture depends upon two facts: first, that a defeated bill is figuratively overcome, Fut down; and secondly, that the gesture represents a putting down in the physical sense. Again, to express such an idea as, "The North and the South were rent by civil feud," we bring the hands near together and then fling them apart. Now, obviously, between such a movement of the hands and political or social dissension there is absolutely no actual relationship. But the gesture does portray an analogous physical separation or tearing apart, and thus derives a significance with reference to the passage under discussion. In fact, the gesture expresses to the eye the same analogy that the figurative word "rent" conveys to the ear. As a final example let us take the sentence, "At this assertion the tensity of the audience became extreme." How can this emotional state be expressed by the hands? As before, by a gesture representing an analogous physical state, in this case, the clenched fist. In such analogies as those just presented lies the expressiveness of practically all those gestures which really suggest mental or emotional content. If the analogies be well chosen and the gestures well executed, the audience will instantly interpret the movements in the mental |