If you like this story, you should see the gestures

March 14, 2003 - London Times
If you like this story, you should see the gestures
By Alexandra Frean, Social Affairs Correspondent

THIS could be bad news for any viewers feeling infuriated by television reporters who can't keep their hands still.
Far from being a distraction, psychologists claim that gesticulating while talking helps onlookers to remember accurately what you are saying.

The findings from the University of Manchester come as many news presenters are suffering from a condition known as the "Marr effect", characterised by an urge to wave their hands about in imitation of the BBC's political editor, Andrew Marr.

Mr Marr himself may have been influenced by Peter Snow and Sir David Attenborough, or even by President Clinton, who was thought to have perfected the art of emphatic hand movements.

There's a catch in the findings. Researchers found that gestures must be relevant to work ?- for example, a wide circular movement with both hands to indicate that someone is fat, or moving the arms quickly to show running. In a study presented to the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Bournemouth, 40 volunteers watched a video of someone narrating stories from Roger Rabbit and Sylvester and Tweetie Pie cartoons. The presence of gestures increased the accuracy with which they recalled the story by as much as 35 per cent.

Past research has already shown that hand movements, known as iconic gestures, can contribute extra information to a speaker's overall message. The Manchester psychologist Nina McGloughlin said that the new finding showed that even if a gesture did not convey additional information, it had a function in emphasising information already present in speech. "People remember information better when they hear and see it," she said.