Visually Speaking

Chris Martin’s vocal tones and gestures bring this song to life. Here’s a look at some of the presentation skills being demonstrated with his personal expression. The comments, which follow after the video clip below, are identified parenthetically by time code, which you can move your mouse over (hover) to view the specific part of the four-minute clip.

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Martin’s vocal expressions are evident as he uses crisp pronunciation with matching closed-off phrases. For example, the verses “Sweep the streets I used to own” (0:25
“Sweep the streets …”
), “listen as the crowd would sing” (0:51
“listen as the crowd would sing”
), and, “long live the king” (0:55
“long live the king”
) all demonstrate the closing-off of the vocal tones by finishing the words completely. In the absence of this skill, a person may accidentally “clip” the sentences by rushing into the beginning of the next phrase before closing the prior one.

His descriptive gestures become evident on “roll the dice” (0:43
“roll the dice”
) and “I held the key” (0:58
“I held the key”
), allowing the viewer to match the lyrics to a visual depiction of the story. This skill of using virtual space to let the hands describe thoughts, adds a third dimension to the content bringing it to life. His uses virtual space again when he mimics physical “structures” sung in the verse “my castles stand on pillars of salt and pillars of sand” (1:05
“my castles stand …”
).

Martin’s fluidity of motion in the body is seen during the puppet dance sequence (1:39
puppet-like dance moves
), separating his hand movements from his body actions while setting up a visual ANCHOR that shows-up a half-minute later with the actual lyric “just a puppet on a lonely string” (2:14
“just a puppet on a lonely string” ).

Reaching out gestures are clearly visible during the chorus “I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing” with a reach to the sky (2:20
“I hear Jerusalem bells …” ), but even more prominent during the 20-second sequence, from 2:45 to 3:05, beginning with “That’s when I ruled the world”, where we see an all inclusive wide embrace of the entire “world” (2:45
“That’s when I ruled the world” ) suddenly become a demonstrative targeted offer directly to the camera (2:47
Martin makes a direct “offer” ) or really to us, as viewers.

Finally, the contrasting body language sequence at the end shows a protective, unsure “fig leaf”, closed position of one band member (3:46
protective fig-leaf position ) in opposition to Martin’s open expression (3:58
open body position ). When the front of the body is revealed (open), self-confidence appears, empowering the person. This leadership quality is consistent with Martin as he claims to be someone who “ruled the world”.

Ben Vereen and the cast from the Broadway musical PIPPIN show a wide variety of expressive hand gestures in this video clip taken from the 1981 DVD. While the stage lighting enhances the characterizations, the classic Bob Fosse choreography perfectly accentuates the gestures and body actions to create complete visual expressions.

Following the video clip below, comments are identified parenthetically by time code, which you can move your mouse over (hover) to view the specific part of the nearly four-minute clip. Try it now by hovering over this time code (0:00
as you hold mouse over time code ) to see an example appear on the right.

There are a number of visual cues expressed by the performers through the constant use of open palms and reaching out gestures. Ben Vereen creates the first effect, framing his face with his invitation (0:30
framing the face ). He makes his first offer on the phrase, “we’ve got magic to do” (0:58
making a direct “offer” ) as he opens his hands to the audience. The opening of the palms signifies approachability and friendliness on the part of the person.

If you look closely on the phrase “we’ve got parts to perform” (1:05
“we’ve got parts to perform” ), the sets of floating hands on each side of Ben Vereen (circled on the image) open-up to demonstrate “perform”, and then cross over one another on “hearts to warm” (1:07
“hearts to warm” ), just as his hands naturally embrace his heart. The gestures perfectly match the words, visually describing the concepts, differentiating “perform” (openly to the audience) from “warm” (closer to the heart). This is not to suggest that you mime every phrase in your presentation; instead, you should consider linking gestures to specific concepts where you think greater impact is needed.

Vereen shows a fluidity of motion in the hands during the phrase “as we go along our way” (1:15
a fluid gesture, inviting the crowd ). Just as the camera-angle changes, notice how his right hand smoothly beckons, as if enticing the audience to get closer to the action. This movement requires the hand muscles to be extremely relaxed, yet the action requires a high degree of concentration to generate the snake-like, hypnotic movement. This is similar to Michael Jackson’s famous moonwalk, where each small move of the body (toe-to-heel) must be thought-out to create the impression of gliding backwards, as if floating.

Once the actors emerge from the darkness, notice how they establish static (non-moving) gestures by locking-in on key words, such as “intrigue” (1:23
“intrigue, plots to bring disaster” ), “humor” (1:27
“humor, handled by a master” ); or, even without words, as in Ben Vereen’s two-handed “frozen” gesture to reveal the two women (1:29
“frozen” gesture for reference ); and then again, with a character expressing “illusion” (1:37
“illusion, fantasy to study” ) while freezing the hands. Gestures that freeze will have more power, especially when making an important point. When the body language of the gesture stops moving, the spoken language of the voice gets more focus. If you keep moving your hands constantly when speaking, you have two languages happening at the same time, which may become distracting. Gestures can overlap speech, but not continue simultaneously.

Examine the 25-second sequence, from 1:50 to 2:15, of the entire cast (1:51
entire cast using gestures ) as they use expressive gestures, both with the body and with the hands. See how many words you can link to specific actions of the performers, such as a repeat of the “hearts to warm” gesture (1:59
“hearts to warm” gesture ).

At a later point, the Fosse open body choreography (2:36
open body, highly confident ) is a perfect display of self-confidence. By revealing the middle of the body (the soft, vulnerable part) the message is clearly out in the open, unprotected, totally transparent. Although the hands of the dancers (2:46
open body, highly confident ) are overly exaggerated for dramatic effect, there is value in open body expressions. This action repeats again (3:20
open body, approaching ) and is heightened as the group moves toward the audience.

Finally, the entire cast makes a generous offer on the closing note (3:48
making a grand gesture (offer) ), with heads up and palms out. But as Ben Vereen takes the final bow (3:51
open palms continue the offer ), his palms face down to direct the group to bow their heads, but notice how their palms still remain open, to continue making the offer to the audience, welcoming them into their world.

In this short 2-minute clip from March, 2008, posted in the public domain, Mr. Warty uses a number of directed hand gestures to emphasize certain points. His continuity is mildly challenged because of the consecutive interpretation (translation), forcing him to pause after a few sentences so that the translation can occur. Regardless of that, Mr. Warty seamlessly adds value in his delivery to engage his audience.

Following the video clip below, comments are identified parenthetically by time code, which you can move your mouse over (hover) to view the specific part of the nearly four-minute clip. Try it now by hovering over this time code (0:00
as you hold mouse over time code ) to see an example appear on the right.

The video clip actually starts with a blue-screen banner, with Aniket Warty’s first name misspelled (Ankeit), but thereafter the spelling is correct throughout the clip. The scene opens into a crowded conference room, with a lectern (podium) positioned to one side. An interpreter is on the opposite side of the room.

After his introduction, Mr. Warty moves behind the lectern, and steps up onto a small platform which allows more of his upper body to be visible, giving him the opportunity to use gestures more naturally. If you have speakers who must stand behind a lectern, consider placing a small riser (step), to give the speaker greater visibility. This helps those of shorter stature, male or female.