You’d probably be pretty hard-pressed to find someone who is actually a fan of public speaking. Sure, some people are super confident and have been able to make a career out of it, but it’s just not most people’s cup of tea. In fact, in a report on glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking, mental health writer Lisa Fritscher said that as many as 77% of people “[have] some level of anxiety regarding public speaking.”

This means that an overwhelming majority of people could benefit from learning how to feel more confident and comfortable when engaged in public speaking. Giovanni Luca Cascio Rizzo, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Southern California, may have the answer.

Speakers who use their hands to communicate along with their words are ‘more clear and persuasive.’

Rizzo conducted research using AI to “detect and classify hand gestures” in 200,000 different video segments from 2,000 TED Talks. He also employed the use of human participants watching entrepreneurs pitch new products to them. His findings were published in the Journal of Marketing Research, and he summarized them for The Conversation. According to Rizzo, speakers who used “illustrative gestures” were more effective, both in the TED Talks and the pitches.

VH-studio | Shutterstock

So, if you’ve ever had someone tell you that you talk with your hands, or just noticed that yourself, you might actually be a more effective speaker than you realize. However, Rizzo noted that “not all gestures help.” He added, “Movements that don’t match the message — like random waving, fidgeting, or pointing to things in the space — offer no such benefit.”

The gestures that actually help speakers communicate and get their point across more clearly are known as “illustrators.” These provide a visual representation of the words the speaker is saying. For example, if you’re discussing distance and you move your hands apart from each other to indicate that things are not close, this would be helpful.

: If Your Kid Does These 6 Annoying Things, A Psychologist Says You’re Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Human

Since not all hand gestures are helpful when speaking, Rizzo recommended paying careful attention to the kinds of gestures you make.

Just like you practice what you’re going to say before giving a speech or presentation, you can practice talking with your hands as well. Rizzo’s tip was to “focus on clarity over choreography.” 

In other words, don’t plan every single movement you’ll make. Instead, think about the things you’re going to say that could be easily illustrated with your hands, and pair a gesture with those statements.

Rizzo said that psychologists call the ability to better understand what is being said when you see it illustrated in gestures “processing fluency.” He explained, “They make abstract ideas feel more concrete, helping listeners build a mental picture of what you’re saying.” 

: 2 Questions Highly Intelligent People Ask To Always Get What They Want

It seems that our brains are wired to connect our hand movements to our speech.

Science writer Christopher Bergland shared that speech and hand movements are controlled by the same part of the brain, meaning there’s probably a reason we employ both at the same time. Perhaps our bodies were made in such a way that we were meant to use not just our voices, but also our hands to speak.

shurkin_son | Shutterstock

Additionally, Bergland said researchers will sometimes watch children less than 2 years old make hand gestures when communicating in an effort to determine what kind of language abilities they will develop. Talking with your hands isn’t something that takes time to learn. Rather, it seems like it’s something we’re all born with the ability to do.

So, if someone tries to make you feel bad for talking with your hands, saying it’s annoying or distracting, don’t let their words affect you. Talking with your hands means you’re more likely to get what you want and makes you a more effective speaker. Who wouldn’t want that?

: Only Happy Couples Can Talk About This One Thing Without It Ruining Their Relationship, According To Research

Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.