MICROLEARNING LIBRARY  
📚

Body Language
(Gestures)

Your words can say all the right things, but if your hands tell a different story, your communication will be a miss. Our brains scan body language to identify threat: a stiff gesture, a pointed finger, or a closed palm can quietly work against you, even with good intentions. Patients read our gestures before they process our words. This upSKILL shares a few small habits so your gestures build trust instead of quietly working against you, including how to master the two things about a handshake that give a gut reaction. 
   4:08 Watch Time [Week 7 from the Weekly upSKILL series]
This upSKILL is members-only content. See Memberships or if you are a member, make sure you're logged in to access.
 Real Help 

Solve these 'people problems'

Empty space, drag to resize

For upSKILLers:

  • Quick movements that accidentally make you look less confident than you feel
  • Pointing at patients without realizing it comes across as an order instead of guidance
  • Gestures that don't match your words, creating a subtle sense that something feels off
  • Wanting patients to feel invited and guided instead of instructed or corrected
  • Feeling more confident and in control during a tense or difficult interaction
  • Knowing how to shake hands in a way that builds instant equality instead of unintentional dominance or lack of confidence

For Leaders:

  • Team members who sound warm but whose body language quietly undercuts the message
  • Gestures like pointing or closed hands that unintentionally escalate tense patient moments
  • Inconsistent body language that makes some team members read as less trustworthy than others
  • Coaching team members to project calm confidence with a few simple hand gesture habits
  • Helping team members handle difficult patients or personalities without losing composure
  • Creating a more consistent, trustworthy nonverbal experience across the whole team
 Data 

It's science

A study on hand gestures found that people react most comfortably to an open, palm-up gesture compared to a palm-down or pointed finger gesture, even when the words spoken were identical.(1)
Empty space, drag to resize
That single positioning of your hand can change whether an instruction feels like an invitation or an order.
Confident gestures are smooth, broad, and slow, not fast, hurried, and jittery, according to body language research from former FBI agent Joe Navarro.(2)
Empty space, drag to resize
This means how you move your hands can signal calm confidence or nervous uncertainty before you say a single word.
Hand gestures are an integrated part of how we communicate and think, not just something added on top of our words.(3)
Empty space, drag to resize
That means when your gestures don't match what you're saying, people can feel that something is off, even if they can't explain why.
 Note 

From The Experts

"Did you know that science shows using your hands when you speak improves someone's perception of you and what you're saying? Kinetics is the study of how our body language and gestures can change the meaning of our words. It's fascinating! Simple yet powerful."
Empty space, drag to resize
- Christine & Lauren, The Patient Whisperers
 TIPS 

How To
Use This

YOU

Watch Anytime

Bite-sized upSKILLs by topic so you can find guidance any time you need it.
TEAM

Share The Link

If you have a TEAMS membership, just share this link with your team to watch it on their own. 
TEAM HUDDLE

Watch & Discuss

Our favorite: play this video on a TV or big screen in your next team huddle, then talk through it as a group!
 HELP 

Can't find what you're looking for?
We probably have an upSKILL for that. 

Find exactly what you need: browse or search the topic library

 SERIES 

This is adapted from Weekly: Mastering Soft Skills

by The Patient Whisperers:
Soft skills that make work and life better.
For everyone who works with patients - or interacts with humans.

8 minutes each week

quick bites, by The Patient Whisperers.

Soft skills are people skills

Feel empowered (or empower your team) to
connect with anyone  
feel confident in any situation  
stay centered in difficult encounters  

See a weekly session (6:08) + Q&A!
Pause + zoom for a closer look.

Write your awesome label here.

Feels like social media

No boring training modules: It feels like an inspiring scroll that you + your team will actually enjoy.

Knowledge + Use

 The WHY: Science & Psychology
 Real scenarios
 Step-by-step actions
 Example scripts
See how easy it is to upSKILL your team.
 real talk 

Why is your team's membership important to you?

Ralph Chu, MD
CEO & Chief Medical Officer
Chu Vision Institute

 TEAM Membership
Write your awesome label here.
 WHO 

Meet the experts

The Patient Whisperers
Christine Scarlett
& Lauren Weaver
Former practice leaders leading change by bringing relational intelligence, soft skills + emotional connection into healthcare as authors, speakers, and upSKILL instructors. 
Get to know them here or connect on social media:
Christine Scarlett
Former CMO
& Director of Patient Experience
From counseling patients, to Director of Patient Experience, to CMO, Christine's worn nearly every 'hat' in a healthcare practice. The driving force? Her love for people... creating exceptional patient experiences and empowering those who serve them.
Lauren Weaver
Former
Director of Brand Development
Bringing her PR, branding, social media influencer status, and love of storytelling with her, Lauren turned how we market and build a brand for ourselves in healthcare upside down by redefining how we connect with our patients, both in practice and online.
 JOIN THE COMMUNITY 

Become a practice that upSKILLs.

Memberships built to make your life easier: for Leadership or Teams.

 what's next 

Curious? If you have questions, we've got you.

See if upSKILLery is the tool that will make your life easier.
Take one easy step: which feels best?

Get Inside

Test the format, sample the content, get a feel for the user experience.

Take a Tour

Let us show you around with a quick walk through upSKILLery.

Talk to an Expert

Get a FREE custom recommendation for you & your practice goals!
(1) Pease, A. (2013). TED Talk, "Body Language, the power is in the palm of your hands"; (2) Navarro, J. & Karlins, M. (2008). What Every BODY is Saying. HarperCollins; (3) McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and Mind: What Gestures Reveal About Thought. University of Chicago Press.