“What do I do with my hands?” If you’ve ever wondered this, you’re not alone. In this episode, Kristi breaks down why gestures aren’t just decoration—they’re part of how jurors learn from you. From the science of dual coding theory to the common gesture mistakes that undercut credibility, you’ll learn how to use your hands intentionally to reinforce your message, build trust, and increase juror retention.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why jurors don’t just listen with their ears—they “listen” with their eyes

2. The difference between gestures that support your message and ones that sabotage it

3. 8 common gesture pitfalls that reduce trust and comprehension (and how to fix them)

4. How to use gestures as visual punctuation for your arguments

5. Why balance and variety matter in nonverbal communication

Key Takeaway:

Gestures are not neutral. They either help or they hurt. When aligned with your words, gestures become a powerful tool for persuasion and memory.

Favorite Moment:

“Gestures aren’t decoration. They’re part of how people learn from you.”

Links & Resources:

1. 🎁 Free PDF: The Top 20 Legal Terms to Avoid https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/top20

2. 📺 Watch the episode on YouTube or on my website to see the gesture demos in action https://www.youtube.com/@FosterYourVoice

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TRANSCRIPT:

Hellooooo! Hello Foster Fam! Welcome back to another episode of the Foster Your Voice Podcast, I'm your host, Kristi Foster.

Today we're going to talk about gestures, and how they can be a power for good, or for evil (hahaha!). Okay, not evil, but if you're not strategic and purposeful with your gestures, you could be sabotaging your message.

Before we dive in though, I wanted to tell you about something I came across recently in a social post from Adam Grant—a best-selling author and popular scientist specializing in organizational psychology—where he was talking about a new approach to journaling.

Are you a journaler? I'm not great about journaling. I'm trying.

I chart things, and have a variety of "trackers." But I've never been great about long-form journaling.

So, several years ago when gratitude journaling became all the rage, it seemed a bit more do-able for me.

Gratitude journaling is simply writing down 3 things you're grateful for each day. Could be simple or deep. Either way, writing down what you're grateful for is great for keeping perspective, releasing dopamine, helping to stay grounded and rooted in the things that matter most.

In this post though, Adam talked about how gratitude journals are great for cultivating happiness, but CONTRIBUTION JOURNALING is where he's seeing significant growth and perspective shifts.

According to his studies, he found that a huge part of human motivation comes from the knowledge that we make a difference. Gratitude notes what you RECEIVE from others, but keeping track of the ways that you contributed to the world around you, and directly to people in your life, each day has proven to be a huge motivator.

So, if you're feeling a little stuck, struggling to make progress on your goals, finding it hard to make connections...start writing down three ways that you have contributed to the world each day.

And then, let me know what you think? Are you already doing this? What have you noticed about either doing a gratitude journal or a contribution journal, or both? Let me know. Email me at [email protected]

—BREAK—

Now, if you’ve been with me for a while, you know I’m a hand-talker. I’ve never really been uncomfortable with my hands or wondered what to do with them. But over my years as a teacher, director, and now as a coach for trial attorneys, I’ve heard this question from students and clients so many times:

“What do I do with my hands?”

It’s a fair question. And my answer has changed over the years. Early on, I’d tell performers: “Just get comfortable letting your arms rest by your sides. Start there.” Creating that discipline for students who were doing recitals gave them a calm control of the space. And for a lot of people, stillness feels safer than trying to figure out what to do with your hands.

But here’s the thing: if your hands stay glued to your sides once you begin your presentation, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Because gestures aren’t just decoration. They are part of your message. They’re part of how people learn from you. And, you are NOT recitalizing in the courtroom.

So, today we’re going to talk about the kinds of gestures that support your message, the kinds that work against your message, and why your physical cues are more than just visual filler—they’re actually part of how jurors process, encode, and remember what you say.

So let’s start with a bit of science.

Humans don’t just listen with our ears—we listen with our eyes. Our brains process information more effectively when multiple sensory channels are activated at the same time. This is a fancy thing called dual coding theory: if your words carry meaning and your gestures visually reinforce that meaning, the brain encodes it in two ways—making it easier to remember.

Think of gestures as punctuation for your speech. Just how, like, commas, exclamation points, or bolded words guide a reader, gestures guide your jurors through your opening. They can highlight key points, establish a sequence, and generally, keep listeners contained inside your story.

But, when gestures are random, though—distracting, or contradictory—they aren't just unhelpful. They can actually HURT your message. They create cognitive dissonance for your jury. They’re forced to split attention between your words and your hands, analyzing which is the more important, and all that does is reduce their comprehension and their retention. Your gestures can actually backfire on you.

So let’s talk about some of the gestures that work against your message.

And, just a side note, I'm demonstrating these as we go, so if you have an option to watch on YouTube or on my website, go for it. I'll put links to both in the show description if you want to click over.

Okay, so...

Contradictory gestures.

This is when your hands are saying one thing, but your words are saying another. For example: you’re saying “this is straightforward,” but your hands are scribbling aimless shapes in the air. Again, this forces the jury to have to choose which signal to trust—do they trust their ears or their eyes? Most of the time, their eyes will win, which means your credibility takes a hit.

Micro-gestures or fidgeting.

This includes rubbing your fingers, cracking knuckles, adjusting cuffs, picking at your nails. These little movements are usually unconscious—they’re your nervous energy spilling out—but to the jury, those things read as distraction. Their brains register “something’s off,” or "this must not be important."

Over-grabbing or clawing motions.

This one happens more than you’d think. Hands that clench and release over and over—like you’re grabbing at the air, or worse, like you're grabbing at the jurors. It feels like taking, not giving. It puts people on the defense and breaks the rapport you're building.

Closed-off gestures.

Hands in pockets. Arms crossed. Hands clasped tightly in front of you. All of these signal withholding, secrecy, or discomfort—even if that’s not your intention. Now, this one's tough for me because, casually, I cross my arms all the time. But NOT when I'm presenting. Remember, jurors are receiving your nonverbal communication not just for information, but for trustworthiness. So, we don't want to be closed off.

Choppy or fragmented movements.

Dropping your hands mid-thought, or cutting off gestures before you’ve completed an idea, just letting your hand fall, maybe even slapping the sides of your legs. Now, here’s why this matters: jurors process your arguments in “cognitive chunks.” If your gesture doesn’t sustain through the chunk, you fracture the rhythm of their comprehension. You've sabotaged your own storytelling.

Over-animation.

On the other extreme are gestures that are too big, too fast, or constant—like you’re conducting an invisible orchestra. In this case, the hands become the show, and your words get lost.

Self-soothing gestures.

Touching your hair, touching your face. These are self-soothing gestures, and they betray YOUR anxiety. They don't attend to your jurors’ needs. They’re cues that you’re trying to comfort yourself, which makes the listener feel uneasy. They get nervous FOR you.

And finally: pointing or jabbing.

We’ve all seen it. Finger-pointing at jurors, opposing counsel, or even your own exhibits. It reads as aggression, blame, or hostility. Pointing tends to shut people down instead of opening them up to learning. Open hand gestures will serve you better.

Now, here’s the key takeaway: gestures aren’t neutral. They either help or they hurt. There’s not a whole lot of middle ground.

When your gestures support the structure of your ideas, jurors don’t just hear your story—they see it. Their brains are encoding the message twice, which means better retention, deeper comprehension, and ultimately, greater persuasion.

But when gestures contradict, distract, or collapse mid-thought? You’ve made the learning task that much harder for them. You’ve added to their already taxed cognitive load. You’ve given the jury one more reason to check out; you made it easy on their brains to not pay attention.

So what do you do instead? How do you make gestures work for you?

Start by thinking of your gestures as visual punctuation.

If you’re outlining a sequence, show the sequence with your hands.

If you’re talking about size or scope, illustrate that space physically.

If you’re emphasizing a key word, anchor it with a deliberate gesture. I call this marking—assign it to a point in space.

And remember—gestures should be deliberate, sustained, and aligned.

One of my favorite communication thinkers, Vinh Giang, says: “Our body moves our voice, and our voice moves our body. They’re interconnected.” When your physical cues and your vocal cues are working in tandem, your message has precision. It lands with impact.

Now, here's just something to be careful about: Even with gestures that are effective—like the “leveller” gesture with palms down that communicates authority, or the “placater” gesture with palms up to invite openness—you never want to get stuck in just one. Too much leveller can come across as domineering or aggressive. Too much placater can dilute your authority.

Balance is everything.

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So, tuck this away...

Gestures are not an afterthought. They’re not decoration. They’re part of how people learn from you. When you become intentional about how you use your hands—when you make your movements deliberate, aligned, and purposeful—you don’t just look confident. You are confident.

And your jurors? They feel it. They trust it. And they remember more of what you say.

So, the next time you step into court, don’t ask “What do I do with my hands?”

Instead, ask: “How can my hands help tell this story?”

That’s it for today, friends. If this episode gave you something to think about, would you share it with a colleague? And if you haven’t already, leave a quick review. It helps more attorneys discover how to use their voice—and their body—with confidence in the courtroom.

Until next time, keep fostering your voice.