and how you can use it for your videos
Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Jana Bressem, gesture researcher and linguist with 20 years of experience, as part of our KOMMrum event – the monthly networking format of our community, KOMMunarden. She shared an incredible amount of her knowledge and what I found most surprising was her latest field of research: a completely new category of gestures that is emerging on platforms like TikTok and has long since spilled over into real life.
Youth language is created today on TikTok
And in the middle of this conversation, I had to think about my daughter. Her gestures sometimes irritated me – not because they seemed wrong, but because they were different. Taller. Narrower. Now I understand why: the expression in portrait format is simply formative for her
Jana said something that has stayed with me: Gestures are not created as decoration – they are created during thinking. That sounds simple, but it has far-reaching consequences. Research has shown for decades that gestures and language are not separate channels – they are two sides of the same expression. David McNeill, one of the best-known gesture researchers, has shown that gestures occur in sync with speech and convey information that the spoken word alone does not provide. Anyone who separates gestures from what is said therefore loses something – as a speaker and as a viewer.
This also means that anyone who suppresses their gestures interrupts their own flow of thought. It’s not just the outward effect that suffers – thinking itself also becomes more difficult. And if you unconsciously adapt your gestures to a medium, you simply won’t notice. It just happens. Just as language adapts when we talk to children or sit in a job interview – gestures do the same, only more invisibly.
What this has to do with your business videos
I experience two patterns with my clients that I see again and again.
The first: they freeze. In front of the camera, they suddenly stop making any gestures at all – for fear of fidgeting or appearing unprofessional. What they don’t know: This suppression is exactly what makes them look stiff. Not the gestures themselves. Because gestures arise from thinking – those who block them also block the natural flow of speech. The viewer senses this. They can’t put their finger on it, but they realize that something is wrong. The person seems distant, insecure, fake – or simply like someone who is not quite themselves. But the exact opposite is the case: the person is giving their all. They just don’t have the courage to show it.
The second pattern is more subtle: you gesticulate – but unconsciously for the wrong medium. Anyone who has made many zoom calls has learned to think in a narrow frame. Gestures are made high up, close to the face, at eye level. That works on Zoom. But in a business video on LinkedIn that someone is watching in full screen, the same gestures can suddenly seem strange – too close, too narrow, too intense. And those who have been socialized by TikTok – consciously or unconsciously – bring with them an even more upward-focused gesture. This can work for a portrait format video on Instagram. But it doesn’t necessarily work for an explanatory video that is intended to show expertise.
Body language in front of the camera – why less often does more harm
No less. Not more. But awareness.
The question is not: Am I gesticulating too much? The question is: For which medium am I speaking right now – and what does this context need from me?
A business video for LinkedIn needs different gestures than a TikTok. A presentation in front of an audience needs different gestures than a Zoom call. And the good thing is: as soon as you are aware of this, you can adapt it. It’s quick. It doesn’t take a long learning process – it takes a moment of realization.
The aim is not to train certain gestures. Rather, it is to consciously perceive your own impact in conversation – and then also in the video – and to shape it in a targeted manner.
A powerful approach comes from voice and speech work: gestural speaking – known by Mel Churcher, among others. The idea behind it is that gestures are not an accompaniment to speech – but its origin. Once you have experienced this, you stop trying to control gestures. They start to speak out of them.
Ready to try it out?
If you realize that you don’t yet come across as you actually are in front of the camera – that there is a gap between how you communicate live and how you come across in the video – then the Camera Charisma Challenge is exactly the right next step.
Over 10 days, we will work together on your authentic video presence. With techniques from acting work, with awareness of body language and voice – and with the space to try it out directly and get feedback.
The start is April 13. The first 20 registrations pay €79 instead of €99.
