Public Speaking Skills: Mind Maps of Gesture

Science, like the rest of us, advances through trial and error, better known as dumb luck.

One summer day in 1991, neuroscientists in a lab at Parma University wired up a monkey’s brain for a simple experiment. They wanted to see which neruons fired during the series of movements involved in the everyday act of drinking from a cup.

But on that day the monkey was more interested in a student eating an ice cream cone. The monkey watched intently as the student moved the cone to his mouth and, as it watched, the motor neurons in its brain began to fire, indicating that the animal was moving its arms and hands. In fact, the monkey was perfectly still.

This suggests (they say) that our brains mimic, or mirror, the movements we observe, even though we don’t actually make the gestures. We are “moved” when observing the movements of others. In fact, scientists tell us that our brains have “mirror neurons” responsible for replicating the brain maps of gestures made by others.

While it’s nice to have science confirm this, didn’t we know it already? When we watch someone hit his thumb with a hammer, and he winces in pain, we make the same gesture.

When we see someone cover his face with his hands and shake with sobs, we can’t help but be moved, even though we don’t replicate the gesture.

And when we watch a speaker step out from behind the lectern, and we see that his or her body is free of tension, and even more importantly, full of intention, our brains recognize the speaker is confident in what she’s saying, and certain parts of our brains light up, and more importantly, she is more likely to exert influence over us.

As a great Roman said, “Unless the delivery stands guard over the material, the material will evaporate, no matter how precious it was in itself.”

There is no right way to “deliver” your thoughts: there is only your own best way. If you restrain yourself from gesturing, your audience feels your restraint. If you make exaggerated, unfelt gestures (because you’ve read and misinterpreted this blog) your audience feels that you are artificial. But when you allow your voice and body to express what your message means to you, they feel the meaning of your message.

And so I have a renewed interest in the body language and micro-movements of my clients. It doesn’t have to be elegant, but it does have to be full of intention.

I am still looking for a unified field theory of presentation skills, and when I find it, I will check to make sure that the mind-body connection is a significant part of it. The brain is in the skull, but the mind is in every cell.