Hand gestures are a form of nonverbal communication in which visible bodily actions are used to communicate specific messages, either in place of, or in addition to, verbal communication. Although hand gestures vary widely between cultures, they are commonly used to convey simple messages or instructions, such as “come here” or “stop”. Complex messages can be conveyed by combining different hand gestures. In some cultures, the same gesture may have very different meanings.
There are three main types of hand gestures: emblems, illustrators, and affect displays. Emblems are culturally-specific gestures that have agreed-upon meanings within a particular culture or subculture. Illustrators are spontaneous gestures that serve to emphasize or illustrate what the speaker is saying. Affect displays are spontaneous expressions of emotion that often accompany speech.
Some common hand gestu