What Do Your Hands Say? What Does Your Voice Hold?
July 9th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Offering another view of words that work without words: What do your hands say? What does your voice hold?
Our hands and voice are our earliest, most reliable and effective instruments for connecting. Usually we think we talk with our voices and use our hands for holding. Recent Facebook postings of Tonya K. Freeman and Bill Pinder inspired me to think differently about the multiple uses for hands and voice.
As words create connections, so to do hands create connection. Hands speak and connect through creation: the Pyramids, early forms of transportation and housing, tools, and artwork in myriad media.
Examples of hands being instruments for connecting:
- Hands shake to say welcome to others
- Hands massage to say, “I am providing comfort and relief from pain”
- Hands touch people with dementia who have difficulty connecting to say, “I am here” even though the person does not know you or remember who you are
- Hands touch people who are afraid to say, “You are safe”
- Hands hold people who are dying to say, “Thank you for being in this world,” and to ease the transition into another world
- Hands speak through American Sign Language
Our voice holds much, more than we sometimes imagine.
- Voice holds promise
- Voice holds the power to heal without words through chanting
- Voice holds fear and shock
Communication and connection are essential to business coaching and life coaching and organizational consulting. Thanks to Tonya and Bill I will be exploring how to integrate what your hands say and what your voice holds in my work.
Have some fun and explore reframing the uses of your hands and voice.
- In what ways do you use hands to talk?
- How do you use your voice to hold?
Posted in business coaching, life coaching, organizational consulting, weblogs | 
Tags: Bill Pinder, business coaching.life coaching, comfort and relief from pain, communication and connection, create connections, dementia, fear and shock, hand shake, hands and voice, instruments for connecting, organizational consulting, power to heal, sign language, Tonya K Freeman, transition, uses for hands, uses for voice
This is a lovely sharing Renee and so very true. It is an honor to know that we were an inspiration to you to write this blog. Thank you.
One of my favorite quotes illustrates the power of hands, Renee:
Hands are the heart’s landscape. Pope John Paul II
I love this quote. Thank you so much.
Renee, the import of your post speaks deeply to me. For many years people asked if I knew sign language. Not consciously however I now know that when we are fully engaged our whole body talks.
Wonderful post, Renee
I am honored with the blog post you wrote. Beautiful sharing more of what your hands say.
Yes, terrific the way our bodies really speak everything about us and our history. Thanks for reminding me.