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.”
As I made the points, I would hold up my right hand, deploying my finger or fingers depending on the number of points. The gesture reinforced the words I was using. The goal: cementing my point using my voice, words, and gesture—the gesture, I imagined, being the cherry on top of my argument. In mock jury deliberations, I once saw a “juror” mimic me using my fingers.
Bottom Line
We think we’re communicating by using PowerPoint slides. Although technically we are communicating, we aren’t doing so to maximum effectiveness. Your hands and your voice are often better tools, and they come with the built-in advantage of always being with you if you need to present on the spot. (You might not have time to create a slide deck.) Cultivate them and use them. I talk about these issues, as well as many others, in my recently published book, Effective Communication for Lawyers: Presenting, Counseling, Persuading (West Academic, 2026).
Michael P. Maslanka is a professor at the UNT-Dallas College of Law. You can reach him at michael.maslanka@untdallas.edu.