Hand gestures when speaking???

Post Reply New Topic

Do you do hand gestures when speaking? I tend to in normal conversation move my hands alot. Does anyone else do this or know someone that does?

I always thought that this was often a cultural thing with some groups. Some people do this all the time and some never do, while others gesture more when they are agitated. Either way, I guess that my response to the whole gesture thing is simply, so what. Some do, some don't that's all. I have no idea whether this is in any related to AS or not. Maybe you ought to consider doing a poll. The results might be interesting. BTW, I don't gesture much at all, even when I am excited.

I read in an autism book from the psychology section of my university library that people with autism and aspergers tend to use their hands less when they speak. Apparently this to do with some lack in non-verbal communication. Some probably do though. I know for me, I never have and I always thought it was weird and annoying when people moved their hands to their speech.

I do.

I consider it a bad habit on my part. Aside from being distracting to the person to whom I'm speaking, I suspect that the gesturing also distracts me while I'm speaking.

It was found (on 60 Minutes, I believe) that hand-gesturing actually aids in memory recall. The "shapes" and movements themselves may be cultural, but not the act thereof.

Only to point at what im talking about or show how big something is... considering i can show its size with my hands...
otherwise trying to choreograph the movements while talking makes a mess of what im saying and whatever im doing with my hands... becomes a juggling act that doesnt work... so pretty much no i dont use hand gestures

If I'm trying to explain something in detail, and struggling for the words I need, then my hands move a lot. It's like an instinctive act of frustration, or desperation. But if I'm having casual conversation with someone I know and I'm comfortable with, I usually put my hands in my pockets. That's what feels natural to me.

I find myself fascinated (and/or puzzled) by the grand hand gestures some people use. Unfortunately, I have a terrible tendency to study their moving hands and not hear the words they're saying to me. My father is a big "hand talker" and it can be very distracting.

I use a lot of gestures when I speak. I've got to cut down on those gestures if I want to pass my job interviews.

When I was younger, I never did. I taught myself to by observing people who used hand gestures. I now do it nearly automatically.

I think hand gestures can be a very effective tool for getting your point across.

I'll make odd gestures with one hand when I'm having difficulty trying to explain something to someone else. Several people have commented on it before. I don't know why I do it, but it seems like it helps me get my words out.

I use my hands all the time when I speak. I think it's because I'm primarily a visual thinker - I see the story and my hands are sort of imitating the image. Sometimes, I see people looking at my hands and I get embarrassed. My gestures are not for them, unless I'm describing the size or shape of something,

I saw a videotape of myself once and I was struck with how still I was. I was being interviewed (I was helping someone working on his master's in psych) and the only thing that moved was my mouth.

I don't hand gesture a lot, only occasionally. I think it's true that it's more a cultural thing. When I do, it can be perceived as odd by others, especially when I'm excited or upset. I imagine how I could look arrogant or outright threatening (very rarely, I trust) at that time.

I've observed that fiddling with objects at hand, clasping or folding hands, supporting the head by the forearms helps to concentrate on the ongoing conversation. This, of course, prevents hand gesturing.

I go to a group for people with Aspergers and I have noticed that some members of the group will move their hands and use gestures while talking, but other members of the group don't. I have also noticed the ones who use gestures the most are the ones who have been most successful in employment and things, I wonder if they learned to use gestures to be more accepted. I myself have been told that I don't use gestures or use my arms much while speaking, but I try to do if I remember to but it doesn't feel natural to me.