Presenting? Your hands point the way

Many readers give presentations to all sorts of groups—the C-suite, staff, business partners—or they’re sought out for advice from colleagues on how to do so effectively. So an article in the January-February 2026 issue of the Harvard Business Review titled “Hand Gestures Make You More Persuasive” caught my attention.

Data doesn’t lie

The article points to two studies that support using your hands in a presentation. In one, the most effective hand use was the “illustrator,” which is when the speaker uses hands to visually represent an object or a concept (for example, mimicking shifting gears to describe the process of thinking). In the other study, a group of subjects found the use of the “illustrator” gesture by those pitching a deal made them more understandable and more persuasive.

Research (and my experience) bears this out. Seeing a photo of a hamburger while reading a review of a hamburger at a restaurant makes it easier for the reader to process the message. While saying “the demand is going up and down,” use your hands to make a wave motion.

When in practice, I used my fingers to focus the listeners. By way of example, I often addressed a jury by saying, “When you return to the jury room to start your deliberations, I ask that you remember (one or two or three) points.”