From Tom Scott’s video Why Do We Move Our Hands When We Talk?

  • Iconic, represent a literal object
  • Metaphoric, symbolise an abstract concept
  • Deictic, pointing of things
  • Pragmatic, context dependent
  • Beat, rhythm of gestures
  • Emblems, named gestures

Gestures help us communicate more effectively and elaborate ideas, and even blind individuals use them. They add redundancy to spoken words and allow for emphasis and clearer explanations.