What the hands can tell us

Communication is multimodal, with people often producing speech-accompanying hand gestures when they talk. Popular science often claims that these gestures affect the way a speaker is perceived, resulting in suggestions on when and how (not) to use gestures if you want to be perceived more positively. However, there is hardly any scientific evidence supporting these claims. In the current experimental study, we will, for the first time, see if we can find scientific support for the popular idea that using your hands when you speak can affect the extent to which you are considered a persuasive, likeable, and competent speaker.