[Perform-Talk] The Use of Hand Gestures When Public Speaking

Sun Dec 14 01:20:19 UTC 2025

This is an interesting one. So funny enough, several studies have actually found over the years that blind people do tend to gesture when we speak just as often as other people do. The manner in which we do it can differ a little bit, but by nature we tend to, and a lot of that is tied to linguistics around the language we speak and the semantics of how we process that language in our minds, not by visual imitation of others. Here’s a link to one study that reviews most of the current literature on the topic if you want to learn more: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10078191/

That said, just like everyone else, there is absolutely going to be natural variability in blind people of how much we gesture, and that’s true of sighted people too. So I suppose my first question would be, do you tend to keep your hands at your sides deliberately, out of self-consciousness or feeling unsure if what you will do with them is right, or even out of nervousness, or does that position just feel entirely natural to you? A And do you tend to gesture with your hands at all when talking casually in a non-public speaking setting? If not, if keeping your hands at your side is just completely natural for you and most context, it could absolutely just be a natural variation for you.

If you do tend to keep them there deliberately though, it could be worth unpacking that and finding ways to let your body move more naturally when speaking. I used to keep my hands very stiff out of nervousness and tension when public speaking, and as I got more comfortable on the metaphorical stage and didn’t hold as much tension in my body when speaking, my natural hand gestures came out a lot more. Finding topics I felt more passionate about also helped bring out that more natural motion, because that feeling naturally put more energy in my body and shifted my speaking into more of a whole body experience than just an intellectual recitation.

However, it’s also worth noting that sometimes the accepted standards of what public speaking is supposed to look like are rooted in able-bodied ideals and don’t always make space for variation, and that’s not the fault of the speaker. The audience place just as much of an important role in a public speaking experience, and the audience is also capable of preconceived ideas and judgments based on limited ideas of what a speaker should look like on stage. I actually took a public speaking university course this past semester, and the textbook we used had some incredible things to say about this in particular. I found that really validating that someone was actively talking about disabled public speakers and how the way our bodies move sometimes breaks from the norm, and that’s OK because sometimes it means our idea of what a good public speaker looks like needs to change, not the speaker themselves. It’s an accessible open source online book, so here is the link to that chapter if you’re interested in that as well: https://opentext.ku.edu/speakoutcallin2/chapter/nonverbal-delivery-2/

So I think it could be worth investigating in yourself why you tend to hold your hands at your sides, if it’s natural or deliberate, done out of discomfort or your general nature, and it could also be worth talking about expectations and norms with your toastmasters group to open some minds about the idea of the mythical norm.

Hope this helps.

Ellana

> On Dec 13, 2025, at 7:11 PM, Shelley Alongi via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Annie
> 
> Hands are funny things. Sometimes we just don’t know what to do with them. When I’m in a situation where I don’t know what to do with my hands. I usually just keep them at my side so that they don’t look awkward. If anyone is looking at your hands, they’re not listening to the message that you are presenting. If you can’t think of a hand gesture, I would just keep your hands as they used to say to yourself. I have had experience with public speaking through toastmasters, and I know through one speech I did use gestures. The speech I gave was on the subject of space flight. I talked to the audience about a certain company and their involvement in offering space flight to the general public. At one point, I said now I know that we all know someone we’d like to launch into outer space. At that point, I took my hands and raise them over my head and out to the sides to signify sending someone toward the sky. I won that contest by the way :-) Sometimes when I’ve given public speeches, I’ll use that gesture to encompass the audience or the subject matter. You can use that gesture to make something obvious or just in a small way. In terms of singing, I suppose it matters what type of music you are singing. In my experience because I do have a music degree, singing was a very stayed performance. In something like a rock concert gestures are much more exaggerated; noticeable because the singers will throw their heads back or puff out their chest or use extensive hand motions. These days singers connected to a mic are most likely to be using wireless technology so this is much easier. Personally, I was in choir so our hands were always full of books. We didn’t do much gesturing, except if we were performing in an opera.  In short, maintain good posture and do whatever you want.I hope this gives you a little insight about how I use hand gestures. You might incorporate waving as if you’re actively saying hello to someone or talking about saying hello to someone. I’ve been giving talks lately at the church every few months and I haven’t needed to use hand gesteures because I have my hands full of my notes. I know in toastmasters you are encouraged not to use notes. But in this situation, I was only giving the talk once and I didn’t want to get distracted and it had been a while since I had given a toastmasters style speech so I cheated and used my notes. :-) I hope this helps you incorporate hand gestures into further speeches and good luck.
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> 
>> On Dec 11, 2025, at 9:22 PM, Annie Davis via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello everybody😊.  I am curious to hear your thoughts on this subject.  I am a member of Toastmasters at my “survival” place of employment, and the person who evaluated me suggested that I try to incorporate more hand gestures in future speeches.  I’ve heard this a lot and understand that is how many sighted people communicate.  I also understand that every performance, whether spoken or sung should be “believable” to the audience, and when we simply stand there and speak/sing, that is not always the case.
>> 
>> Conversely, when I have incorporated gestures that I memorized in voice lessons, adjudicators have said that the gestures were over-rehearsed.
>> 
>> How have you learned to navigate this catch 22?
>> 
>> Are there certain hand gestures you have in your “back pocket” so to speak that you find useful when presenting that feel natural to you and look natural to your audience?
>> 
>> I appreciate any insight you might have. ❤
>> 
>> Annie
>> 
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