Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A study recently published in the journal suggests something many Italians already knew--certain hand gestures really do make people seem more competent and persuasive. "One of the key takeaways for marketers is that you can use the same content, but if you pay more attention to how that content is delivered, it could have a big impact on persuasiveness," Mi Zhou, study co-author and University of British Columbia digital market research scientist, said in a statement . Zhou and her colleagues analyzed 2,184 TED Talks using AI and automated video analysis. They compared hundreds of thousands of video clips of hand features to audience engagement metrics, and asked study participants to rate the speakers and products in videos of sales pitches with different hand movements.