that the preparation may be wholly unobtrusive.

The height of the preparatory movement will usually depend upon the plane of the stroke, whether high, middle, or low. Ordinarily the hand will be raised slightly above the plane chosen. In some gestures terminating in the low plane, however, such as the emphatic assertive gesture, the hand is raised to the level of, or above, the head.

An excellent device for increasing the emphatic effect of the stroke consists in sustaining the hand at the climax of the preparatory movement through several words leading up to the emphasized expression. The preparation should be begun early enough to allow a sustentation of appreciable length before the stroke. The attention of the audience is thereby intensified, owing to the clearly marked anticipation of the emphatic passage. This device should be used only occasionally, for like any other special method of attracting attention, it becomes ineffective when frequently repeated.

The Stroke. The most important part of a gesture is the stroke, which carries the hand through the significant word or passage. The stroke unbends the arm, using the centers of

motion in the same order as in the preparation,

shoulder, elbow, wrist. In addition the hand by opening with vitality at the end of the stroke furnishes what may be termed the eloquent instant of the gesture. The stroke should synchronize with the word or words which the speaker desires to supplement with visible expression, and the hand should reach the terminal point exactly with the voice. In some cases the stroke operates on a single word, as, "The machine shot across the line"; in other cases the stroke moves through several words, as, "For weeks and weeks the caravan crawled slowly over the desert." The nature of the thought will determine the rate at which the hand should move, and the speaker should never fail to take advantage of the superiority of visible expression over words in depicting rapidity and slowness of action, whether physical or mental. It is of especial importance to note that in order to get the proper effect of the gesture the hand should always be sustained for an instant at the end of the stroke before being relaxed. If the speaker wishes to hold the attention of the audience to an especially significant thought, he may indefinitely prolong this sustentation.

Occasionally in speaking words, phrases, or clauses in a series, such as, "The church, the state, the home are threatened," special distinctness or emphasis may be given by repeating the final part of the stroke, i.e., the wrist impulse, on each member of the series after the first. If greater emphasis is desired, the entire stroke may be repeated, and in this case the effect is increased by raising the hand slightly higher on each succeeding repetition. This device, like other striking means, should be sparingly used if its forcefulness is to be retained. As soon as any gesture, particularly a prominent one, is overworked, it becomes commonplace.

The Relaxation. The term relaxation is used to designate the dropping of the hand to the side. When the stroke has been made and sustained through the passage which it is intended to express, the hand should not be held longer, as if the speaker did not know what to do with it, but should be dropped directly to the side. If, however, two or more gestures are to be made in rapid succession, the hand should be sustained at the end of each stroke till the following gesture in order to avoid hurried, unnecessary, and ill-appearing dropping and

raising of the arm. When the hand is dropped, it must not fall like a dead weight, nor be dragged to the side; the muscles of the arm and hand should be gently relaxed.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GESTURE

Certain general characteristics in the making of gestures are essential to their pleasing and convincing effect. These qualities may be summed up under six heads: ease or spontaneity, unobtrusiveness, vitality, confidence, fitness, and accuracy.

Ease or spontaneity in gesture is the absence of cramped, stiff movements or positions. This absence of stiffness is largely a matter of flexibility of the joints, particularly of the wrist joint. Ability to let the hand and fingers relax is of the utmost importance. Oftentimes selfconsciousness results in awkwardness of gesture, but a reasonable amount of practice in simply executing the various gestures in rapid succession with the supine and the prone hand will secure ease, even before self-consciousness is entirely overcome.

Unobtrusiveness. It may appear paradoxical,

1 This matter is illustrated and discussed at greater length later under the heading, "Gestures in Series."

but it is a fact that gestures should rather be felt than seen. It is obvious, however, that gesture is not an end, but a means to clarifying, visualizing, or emphasizing the thought or feeling for the audience. Any gesture, therefore, which attracts attention to itself will defeat its own purpose. To make his gestures unobtrusive the speaker should, first, never appear to be conscious of his own movements. This he may accomplish largely by never looking at his hands or arms. Second, he should avoid all broad flourish, and all merely pretty, curved motions; directness and simplicity are essential. Third, he should keep the elbow fairly close to the body, especially when making the preparation, and never reach to the full extent of the arm at the end of the stroke. Reserve power is, as suggested in an earlier section, invaluable.

Vitality. Every gesture should have life, spirit. Languid, half-hearted movements are better not made. Even the simplest little wave of indifference should give the impression of latent power. This does not mean that all gestures should be pounded out, but that the speaker should, in every movement, give indication of purpose and earnestness.