Gregory Aldrete

So he actually says, when you put your fingers like this, it means such and such. Nice. And it turns out Roman orders had a system of sign language that they would use to augment their speeches. But here's the fun part. It wasn't like modern American sign language where a gesture means the same thing as a word.

So he actually says, when you put your fingers like this, it means such and such. Nice. And it turns out Roman orders had a system of sign language that they would use to augment their speeches. But here's the fun part. It wasn't like modern American sign language where a gesture means the same thing as a word.

So he actually says, when you put your fingers like this, it means such and such. Nice. And it turns out Roman orders had a system of sign language that they would use to augment their speeches. But here's the fun part. It wasn't like modern American sign language where a gesture means the same thing as a word.

Instead, and this goes back to Cicero, a certain gesture would indicate a certain emotion that you were meant to feel when you heard the words. So it's like your body is adding an emotional gloss to your speech. You're saying words, and then you're indicating how you think those words should make you feel.

Instead, and this goes back to Cicero, a certain gesture would indicate a certain emotion that you were meant to feel when you heard the words. So it's like your body is adding an emotional gloss to your speech. You're saying words, and then you're indicating how you think those words should make you feel.

Instead, and this goes back to Cicero, a certain gesture would indicate a certain emotion that you were meant to feel when you heard the words. So it's like your body is adding an emotional gloss to your speech. You're saying words, and then you're indicating how you think those words should make you feel.

And even more fun, the Romans believed that if I make certain hand gestures, you will almost involuntarily feel certain emotions. So if you're skilled, you can manipulate your audience by playing on their emotions. And this might sound kind of weird or improbable, but the metaphor that Cicero himself uses is he says, think about music.

And even more fun, the Romans believed that if I make certain hand gestures, you will almost involuntarily feel certain emotions. So if you're skilled, you can manipulate your audience by playing on their emotions. And this might sound kind of weird or improbable, but the metaphor that Cicero himself uses is he says, think about music.

And even more fun, the Romans believed that if I make certain hand gestures, you will almost involuntarily feel certain emotions. So if you're skilled, you can manipulate your audience by playing on their emotions. And this might sound kind of weird or improbable, but the metaphor that Cicero himself uses is he says, think about music.

Everybody knows that certain musical tones will make you feel a certain way. So think of movies today. In a horror movie, they're going to play strident, tense music. In a romantic scene, you're going to have strings, and it'll make you feel a certain way. When you hear the Jaws theme, you feel tense, right? Yeah. Cicero said the orator's body is like a lyre.

Everybody knows that certain musical tones will make you feel a certain way. So think of movies today. In a horror movie, they're going to play strident, tense music. In a romantic scene, you're going to have strings, and it'll make you feel a certain way. When you hear the Jaws theme, you feel tense, right? Yeah. Cicero said the orator's body is like a lyre.

Everybody knows that certain musical tones will make you feel a certain way. So think of movies today. In a horror movie, they're going to play strident, tense music. In a romantic scene, you're going to have strings, and it'll make you feel a certain way. When you hear the Jaws theme, you feel tense, right? Yeah. Cicero said the orator's body is like a lyre.

A lyre is a musical instrument, and you have to learn to play on your own body as a musical instrument to affect the emotions of your audience. I think he might be onto something, especially given how central public speaking was in Roman culture. And a lot of the Roman oratorical gestures, like I could probably do some and you could probably guess what emotion they're meant to be.

A lyre is a musical instrument, and you have to learn to play on your own body as a musical instrument to affect the emotions of your audience. I think he might be onto something, especially given how central public speaking was in Roman culture. And a lot of the Roman oratorical gestures, like I could probably do some and you could probably guess what emotion they're meant to be.

A lyre is a musical instrument, and you have to learn to play on your own body as a musical instrument to affect the emotions of your audience. I think he might be onto something, especially given how central public speaking was in Roman culture. And a lot of the Roman oratorical gestures, like I could probably do some and you could probably guess what emotion they're meant to be.

So for example, there's one where like you hold up your hands to the side and kind of push like this. So this is the gesture and what that means is kind of mild aversion. I don't like something. Now, if I couple this with turning my face to the, to the side, that, so pushing off to one side, turning my face away, it's a stronger version. That's like fear or something.

So for example, there's one where like you hold up your hands to the side and kind of push like this. So this is the gesture and what that means is kind of mild aversion. I don't like something. Now, if I couple this with turning my face to the, to the side, that, so pushing off to one side, turning my face away, it's a stronger version. That's like fear or something.

So for example, there's one where like you hold up your hands to the side and kind of push like this. So this is the gesture and what that means is kind of mild aversion. I don't like something. Now, if I couple this with turning my face to the, to the side, that, so pushing off to one side, turning my face away, it's a stronger version. That's like fear or something.

If I clench my fist and press it to my chest, that's anger or grief. If I slap my thigh again, that's an indication of anger. So a lot of these, uh, make sense. I mean, they're kind of natural gestures. Now, some are really weird and artificial. Um, I mean, one of my favorite of these is if you like hold your hand up open and then curl the fingers in one by one and then flip it out.

If I clench my fist and press it to my chest, that's anger or grief. If I slap my thigh again, that's an indication of anger. So a lot of these, uh, make sense. I mean, they're kind of natural gestures. Now, some are really weird and artificial. Um, I mean, one of my favorite of these is if you like hold your hand up open and then curl the fingers in one by one and then flip it out.