I GESTICULATE SO I AM ... ITALIAN!

BY SUSANNA CASUBOLO

Verbal language has an effectiveness of only 7%! In fact, it has been shown that in the case of a communicative inconsistency, people rely more on non-verbal behavior than on verbal behavior, because it is considered more spontaneous and sincere than speech. Non-verbal communication is therefore able to make the human mind understand every type of message more clearly. Gesture is part of our non-verbal language, it enriches the word, adds nuances or even can change the meaning of our speech.

Scientific studies have shown that 70% of information reaches the brain through what we see, confirming how gestures are an important component of communication. The instinct that leads us to gesticulate is one of the most rooted: people talking on the phone, very young children, and even the blind when they talk to blind people, gesticulate. How many times have we heard that gesticulating conspicuously when speaking is an action devoid of any form of etiquette? Instead, we discover that the art of gesturing simplifies communication and increases its expressive intensity.

The Italians gesticulate more and better, the foreigners notice it immediately while the inhabitants of the tricolor peninsula do not realize it because for them it is a natural thing. Where does this habit come from? According to an article in the New York Times, the secular tradition can be traced back to the period in which the ancient Greeks colonized southern Italy: in cities as crowded as those of the South it was as if there was a kind of competition to gain attention. , using the whole body. Another explanation could be the need to develop an alternative form of communication by the Italians during the centuries in which the peninsula was occupied by foreign powers such as Austria, France and Spain between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. Gesticulating always remains a custom rooted in Italian culture, it is part of its identity: through gestures one can immediately recognize each other even abroad and understand each other even beyond dialects or social barriersPerhaps for those looking at an Italian from the outside, the gestures are just an incomprehensible ballet, a series of meaningless movements. But in Italy gestures are a codified and precise language and have a clear meaning for those who can interpret them. If you ask a foreigner to mimic an Italian, an exaggerated and folkloristic speck of disjointed agitation comes out, but only a true Italian will notice that the gestures do not correspond to the real meaning of the language of that moment, the others will laugh at the caricature without realizing it. For example, the famous gesture of the “pinecone” hand, that is the fingertips joined upwards and the hand that moves up and down, is used by foreigners who imitate Italians when they say good morning, without knowing that gesture in the Italian language accompanies a question or a doubt!

Studies show that those who use gestures while studying, while communicating, obtain better results, as gestures are essential for transmitting thoughts and knowledge. The most remembered phrases are precisely those accompanied by meaningful gestures.

So they also gesticulate to help themselves, when explaining difficult concepts, or when shortterm memory is under pressure. For example, gestures can be used to recall motor memories that help to recover the name of what we are talking about: if the tool we want to refer to is a saw, we will make the movement of bringing the arm back and forth or, at least, we will mention it to help us.