Physical body motions used to flavor speech. Effective gesturing is an aid in effective communication, often emphasizing shades of unspoken meaning behind the words being said. It is considered important enough as a speech quality to be covered as a separate counsel point in the school. ("Guidebook" book [sg] Study 26B.) One reader reminded me to mention what she describes as ``word whisker gestures'', e.g., mannerisms or gestures that are nervous habits, such as spontaneous hand motions unrelated to the words. These become meaningless as a result of frequent repetition. One poor speech habit that can appear comical is seen when a speaker's gestures are out of sync with his words, perhaps because he has marked certain ones in his notes just before he needs to use them, and is tied too closely to the notes. And so, brothers [points thumb back over shoulder], let us avoid looking behind [points forefinger forward], but look only forward, to the future! The gestures need to be timed to be seen on the words behind and forward, not several words early.

A form of non-verbal communication, eg. waving, pointing, shoulder-shrugging. See Exploring Language, page 134

A technique in the oral presentation of text that involves making actions or movements which reinforce speech. Gestures make a narrative visually appealing to the audience.