The 5 types of gestures and their classification in non-verbal communication

Communication between two or more people can be verbal (use of linguistic signs in the message) and non-verbal. The latter, non-verbal communication, is the process in which there is sending and receiving messages without words, that is, through 3 elements: indications, gestures and signs.

In this article we will talk about the types of gestures we use when communicating. These gestures will accompany or not our verbal message, and will enrich, adapt or modulate what we want to convey.

• Related article: "The 10 pillars for perfect non-verbal communication"

Gestures in nonverbal communication

When relating them to people, we use verbal and non-verbal communication, and we use a large number of gestures to add value to what we are saying orally. We also use gestures to modulate interactions, regulating our participation and that of other interlocutors. The different types of gestures will have one function or another, as we will see later.

a gesture is a bodily movement of the joints. There are different types of gestures, although they are mainly performed with the hands, arms and head.

A gesture is not the same as a gesture; gesticulation implies an anarchic, artificial and inexpressive movement, while the gesture is usually expressive, and will want to contribute something to the verbal message (or modulate it).

Gestures are included within motor expressions, and these in turn are part of a person's nonverbal behavior.

In addition to gestures, motor expressions are made up of facial expressions and postural behaviors.

Gesture types

We can talk about the types of gestures that we will see next.

1. emblematic gestures or emblems

The emblems are signals emitted intentionally, with a specific and very clear meaning. In this case the gesture represents a well-known word or set of words.

It would therefore be gestures that can be directly translated into words, for example: waving your hand in farewell, or saying “no” with your head.

2. illustrative or illustrative gestures

They are produced during verbal communication, and serve to illustrate what is being said orally. These are conscious gestures, which vary greatly by culture. They are linked to language, but differ from emblems in that do not have a meaning that can be directly translated, since the word to which they are attached does not give them their meaning.

That is, the gesture "serves" the word, it does not signify it. How do you serve it? Emphasizing it, emphasizing it or imposing a rhythm on it that by itself the word would not have.

An example of an illustrative gesture is any movement of the body that plays an auxiliary role in the nonverbal communication, for example, moving the hands up and down like “flapping”, to indicate “a lot” or "far away".

3. Gestures that express emotional states or pathographs

Continuing with the types of gestures, the pathographs are gestures that express emotional states, and they perform a similar function to illustrative gestures, but we should not confuse them. In this case, they are similar in that, like them, they also accompany the word, and give it greater dynamism. However, they differ in that the pathographers, as we have seen, reflect the emotional state of the sender, while the illustrator is emotionally neutral.

Thus, the illustrative gesture consists of a more cultural form of expression, while the pathograph arises from the emotional state of the moment.

Through the pathographers you can express the anxiety or tension of the moment, triumph and joy, discomfort, happiness, pain, etc.

4. Regulatory gestures of interaction

Is about movements produced by both the sender and the receiver in a communicative interaction, and that have the objective of regulating the interventions in the interaction. These are signs to take over in the conversation. They also have an essential role during the beginning or end of it (for example, shaking hands in greeting or farewell).

They can be used to speed up or slow down the interlocutor (for example, making circles with the index finger and the wrist to speed it up, or tapping in the air with the palm of the hand to slow it down). They can also indicate to the interlocutor that they can continue speaking, or make them understand that we are giving them the turn to speak.

In psychotherapy, regulatory gestures fulfill an essential function in relation to active listening of the patient. Such listening involves the ability to hear not only what the person is expressing directly, but also the feelings, ideas, or thoughts that underlie what is being said.

The most common regulatory gestures are head nods (such as nods) and staring. Fast nods imply the message to hurry up and stop talking, while slow nods ask the interlocutor to continue and indicate to the listener that he finds it interesting and likes what is being said saying.

• You may be interested in: "Active listening: the key to communicating with others"

5. Adaptive gestures or adapters

Finally, the last types of gestures that we are going to define are the adapters, gestures that are used to manage or manage emotions that we do not want to express.

The adapters are used when our state of mind is incompatible with the concrete interaction situation that is is taking place, so we don't want to express our emotions directly, nor with the intensity that really sorry.

These situations can cause discomfort in the interaction and/or in the issuer himself, therefore he try to control this discomfort, and it does so by using the gesture as a way of adapting to the situation.

For example, an adapter would be running your fingers through your shirt collar when you feel suffocated by the tension of the situation, or touching your hair when you're nervous.

It is therefore about gestures used as an "escape route" to what is being said or produced in the interaction and/or in our affective and emotional state.