Navigating Nonverbal Language | A Deep Dive into Gesture Types

Author’s Native Language:

Do you know the gesture types? What would be an emblem, an illustrator or manipulator? How important are such gestures in contextualizing our communication? That’s what we’re going to talk about in this article: gestures.

There are several ways to classify gestures, and this subject has been widely treated in scientific literature since the beginning of the 20th century. Lacombe, Dias & Petitpierre (2022, p.1) explains this topic as follows:

There is broad consensus in the scientific literature on the classification of gestures that we use concomitantly with our thinking and speaking. Most authors adopt McNeill’s (1992) theoretical model, which differentiates four gestures types: (1) iconic gestures that are closely related to the semantic content expressed by words spoken (e.g., saying “I turned the shape” while indicating the direction of rotation with the hand); (2) metaphorical gestures that resemble iconic gestures but refer to a concept or an abstract object (for example, saying “it’s the same thing” by opening the right and left hand to indicate equivalence); (3) pointing gestures that indicate or point to concrete or abstract objects (e.g., saying “I went there” while pointing a finger to indicate direction); and (4) beats, that is, gestures that give rhythm to speech without their own meaning (for example, speaking and producing microgestures up and down or back and forth to accentuate certain words). The same gesture can be categorized differently depending on the context; sometimes pointing does not indicate, but communicates iconic content. (emphasis added).

Some confusion may occur due to the different classifications of gestures. It is very common to make a categorization based on the function that the gesture performs.

In this way, the same gesture can fulfil more than one function, which can cause doubts that can only be resolved by verifying the use of the given gesture in the specific context.

This is the case, for example, with the pointing gesture, which can also be metaphorically related to “going crazy” by pointing at the head.

So it is always a wise decision to choose a classification that facilitates your academic work and whose assumptions are also aligned strong> with the other authors that you will research and use.

For this reason, I allow myself to disagree with Lacombe, Dias & Petitpierre (2022) and recommend that, unless there is any special need, the classification proposed by Ekman and Friesen (1969, 1972) and explained by Ekman be used strong> (1976, 2004). The main advantage that I see is that it is less controversial and causes less confusion, despite also being a classification by functions. What will we see next.

I would like to take this opportunity to recommend reading the article “How non-verbal communication influences what speak?“, whose title already represents the objective of the article.

Which are the gestures types?

According to the studies of Dr. Paul Ekman (2004), the gesture types are:

• Emblems;
• Illustrators;
• Manipulators.

The word Emblem was originally used by David Efron (1941) to describe gestures that have very precise meanings and were previously negotiated between members of a particular cultural group. Emblems are used as deliberately and consciously as spoken words, and are distinguished by being used to convey meaning in their use alone or concomitantly with other messages .

This is the case of the thumbs up, universally known since Ancient Rome, and currently popularized as a metaphorical meaning of like, liked, positive, etc. But did you know that the information about the origin of this gesture as a means of saving the life of a gladiator is a myth?

There are many myths about body language. Careful! Meet some in our myths page.

The truth is that no one knows exactly what was the signal used to save a gladiator’s life. Some academics argue, based on texts from the time, that it was precisely the opposite of what is believed. That the thumb down meant to lower the swords and determined the end of the fight or even that no one really knows what the signal was (Bright, 2020; Murray, 2003).

The origin of this myth has been credited to the painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme – Pollice Verso – 1872 – represented below.

From this potent work of art, the idea began that thumbs up meant life and that the opposite would be the death of the combatant. So this also alerts us about the symbolic power of our artistic expressions, even to promote the construction of new meanings.

In short, what are badges? These are gestures that have a previously and collectively negotiated meaning.

Illustrators are gestures directly linked to speech, such gestures are generally used to reinforce the interlocutor’s speech. If we pay more attention, we will realize how much we use our hands to reinforce our speech.

Gesture Illustrator, finger pointing to the fingers. the child reinforces his verbal counting

Manipulators are gestures made towards our body or objects, such as rubbing our hands, scratching, holding buttons, touching our ears, etc.

 Manipulative gesture, indicating anxiety or physical discomfort.

The use of the word manipulator instead of “adapter”

You may have already read, or seen videos on the Internet, that Dr. Ekman proposed a type of gesture as an adapter. This occurred in an initial version of his classification and he explains it to us as follows (Ekman, 2004, p.43):

Originally we (Ekman and Friesen 1969) called these movements “adapters”, but now I prefer the more descriptive term “manipulators”. In these movements a part of the body manipulates in some way – caressing, pressing, scratching, licking, biting, sucking, etc. — another part of the body or face. An object can also be the object of these actions, or be used to perform manipulation. [our emphasis]

So if you find someone talking about adapters and mentioning Dr. Ekman, that person is a little late and reading the studies from 1969 strong>…..

What is the relationship between gestures and nervousness [and lying]?

The first consideration to make is that there is no single, definitive indicator of lying. This is due to the fact that lying is the result of a multiplicity of pshycophysiological processes. So, there is no center of the lie and its indicators are always intermediaries of these processes.

With this care in mind, it is interesting to realize that such gestures can be used as auxiliaries in the analysis of lies, as they function as complements to verbal language (in some moments it completely replaces it), They may indicate the nervousness associated with lying, and present in most human beings.

Some gesture types are often pointed out in self-help literature as “indicators of lying“, that is, if we scratch our nose during speech, we will probably be lying, or even if we start gesturing faster or slower we would also be lying, which is not always true.

We must observe the context and the standard behavior of the interlocutor (does he always gesture quickly or slowly? Does he gesture a lot or a little?), only then can we understand if there is in fact “something wrong” between what is spoken to us verbally and what is not verbally.

The most important phenomenon is the frequency variation of both the manipulative gestures and the gestures of the illustrators. So the tip is to check the amount of each type of gesture that the person makes per unit of time. Based on this observation, check what changes.

In the case of illustrators, the frequency increases when the person enters a persuasive mode and wants to convince people. The frequency of manipulative gestures increases when the person becomes nervous, so they start touching themselves. When she perceives agitated [illustrators] or touching herself too much [manipulators] she begins to carry out conscious control and then the frequency drops in both hypotheses.

Watch the video below:

In the image on the right, we see Ted Band being interviewed (1975) and it can be seen that he is in “persuasive mode“. There are illustrators and there are also many manipulators. On the left, we see another interview, two days before its execution, in 1989. See the difference in the movement between one image and another.

Conclusion on gesture types

Let’s make a summary about gesture types:

Emblems are gestural signs that, within a culture, have a precise meaning, that is, they are gestures independent of speech. For example, shaking your head “yes” or “no” or raising your thumbs up to say that everything is ok.

Illustrators are gestures directly linked to speech, such gestures are generally used to reinforce the interlocutor’s speech. If we pay more attention, we will realize how much we use our hands to reinforce our speech.

Manipulators are gestures made towards our body or objects, such as rubbing our hands, scratching, holding buttons, touching our ears, etc.

Be careful with the tips about manipulative gestures being indicators of lying. What they indicate is that the person is nervous. One of the hypotheses for this is lying, but this will not always be the real cause of certain nervousness…..

I hope I helped you understand the gesture types.

See more:

Tell me where you sit, and I’ll tell you who you are | Proxemics in real life

Ekman portal (in English)