We all make gestures, some more, and some less. Gestures are often a highly culturally influenced trait, but still, I’ve found some fun and interesting patterns, and some gestures that I find are more common with certain personality types. These are every types favourite gesture. But remember, it’s mostly for fun. Which one do you relate to the most?
1. Do you tend to make more gestures with your arms and hands or with your fingers?
Fingers: E**J, I**P, Arms/Hands: E**P, I**J
2. Do you tend to gesture more with your palms facing towards yourself or more away from yourself?
Facing my own body: P Facing others: J
3. Do you often gesture far away from your own body?
Yes: Extrovert No: Introvert
Ne/Ti/Fe/Si gestures
These four types share similar gesturing patterns due to similar function preferences, so look at your type first, and then at the others.
ENTP: The Master Puppeteer
ENTPs often gesture with their palms facing themselves. Their finger movements are cool and meticulous, like someone skilled at typing on a keyboard. Their palms move in a quick and bumpy pattern, like they are controlling multiple puppets, and they often make big gestures, like they’ve found some amazing ideas. They use their palms more than their fingers in their gestures.
INTP: The Mr Burns
INTPs place alot of emphasis on their fingers, which move in a meticulous, spider like manner, like they are always moving one finger at a time. They often hold up their palms facing towards each others (Imagine Mr Burns in Homer Simpsons!) or up to the air, as if to show something they’ve figured out to the group, but their gesture usually starts with their palms facing each other, shielded from the world. They use their fingers more than their palms overall.
ISFJ: Rhythmic DJ Hands
Often gesture with their palms facing the ground. Their finger movements are fleeting but their palms are somewhat bumpy but rhythmic, making their dominant gestures resemble that of a DJ, or the direct, community oriented control an ISFJ seeks. They use their palms more than their fingers overall.
ESFJ: Choir Leader
ESFJs often gesture with their palms facing the audience. Their gestures are bumpy but rhytmic and their finger movements are relaxed and fleeting, making them appear like someone directing a choir, telling them when to raise a tone, or when to decrease it. They use their fingers more than their arms.
Ne/Fi/Te/Si gestures
ENFP: The Quick Blooming Flower
Often gesture with their palms facing themselves. Have a flighty, quick gesturing style, and wild, relaxed fingers, like someone quickly grabbing for ideas around them. From the start, with their fingers closed near their own chests, and with their fingers opening the closer they get to the air, it can look like a flower starting to bloom, but when more energetic, it can look like a basket ball player bouncing balls on their own chest. They use their palms more than their fingers in gestures.
INFP: In communion with the stars?
The INFPs prefer to gesture with both palms facing each others, or briefly with their hands facing upwards to the air as if grabbing for ideas from the universe itself. Their relaxed, less meticulous finger movements make them appear more harmonious than the INTP. It can look like they’re in communion with the stars and the universe itself, or like they’re an upside down swimming jellyfish, you decide which one? They tend to use their fingers more than their palms in gesturing.
ISTJ: The Master Organizer
Often gesture with their palms facing the ground, shielding them from the world around them. Their gesturing is bumpy and rough, and their fingers have an agressive, tense style. Their gesturing is usually more close to their body, and away from others. This is the primary gesturing style of the most organized of the sixteen personality types. One of my ISTJ friends even has a routine for how to tie his shoes. They tend to use their palms more than their fingers in gesturing.
ESTJ: Traffic police gesturing
Often gesture with their hands facing the audience, directing and giving orders, in a direct and bumpy fashion. This gesturing instills authority and power. Their gesturing is more often far away from their body, with their arms stretched out far. They tend to use their fingers more than their palms overall in gesturing.
Ni/Fe/Ti/Se gestures
INFJ: Scrying Gestures
Often gesture with their palms facing away from the world and other people, INFJs tend to have more relaxed, soothing gestures, that give the impression of someone who is scrying a crystal ball for information. They tend to use their palms alot more than their fingers in gesturing.
ENFJ: Theatrical, dramatic gesturing
Often gesture with their palms facing an imagined or real audience. The ENFJ tend to have a relaxed, warm style of gesturing, neither aggressive, or bumpy. Their fingers and their hands are relaxed and move as one. They give the impression of a storyteller describing a fascinating countryside. They tend to rely more on finger movements than hand movements.
ISTP: Lightbulb Screwer
The ISTP often gesture with their palms facing up to the air. They show a lot of finger movements, often moving one finger at a time, meticulously. Their hands move in a bumpy and physical manner, never in a pattern, and it can look a little like they are screwing light bulbs in the air. They tend to show more use of their finger muscles than their hands in gesturing.
ESTP: Android Self Maintenance
The ESTPs often gesture with their palms facing themselves. Their gesturing is rhythmic and bumpy, and their finger movements are controlled and meticulous. This particular form of gesturing can resemble an android involved with self-repairs, compared to the ENTP, there appears to be a pattern and rhythm to their movements, where the ENTP simply appears to be bouncing ideas. They tend to rely more on hand motions than finger motions in gestures.
Ni/Te/Fi/Se gestures
INTJ: Poker Dealer
The INTJ have a relaxed hand movement but aggressive, firm finger movements. They tend to gesture with their hands facing the ground or the table, as an experienced poker dealer handing out cards. They can remind you a little of game masters, aware of the rules and patterns in the room. They tend to rely more on hand motions than on fingers in gesturing.
ENTJ: Mimic In Front Of Invisible Wall
The ENTJ lead with their aggressive, tense fingers, gesturing towards an imagined or real audience. Their style of gesturing can resemble that of a street performing mimic who has found an invisible wall. This gives the impression of someone strong and aware of the rules who has found something that has previously been hidden from others. They tend to rely more on finger gestures than hand movements.
ISFP: The Servant Flick
Ever seen in a movie when a king or queen flicks in the air, and a servant arrives? This flick reminds me somewhat of the ISFPs primary form of gesturing, which can be described as a sudden, quick, but relaxed call for service. More accurately perhaps, the ISFPs gesture looks like someone pinching for mosquitos flying around in the air. (Yes, that is how professionals hunt mosquitos, with a simple pinch.) This form of gesturing may indicate a way to get the groups attention to a problem. They tend to rely more on finger gestures than hand movements.
ESFP: Quick release of heart
The ESFP has a quick, aggressive hand movement, but relaxed and natural finger movements. The gesturing can remind you of someone who is picking dirt from their clothes, or someone grabbing for their feelings or for something important on the inside. They’re basically telling you they are sharing something important and we should do something about it now. They tend to rely more on hand movements than finger gestures.
Beyond Every Types Favourite Gesture
I have here described every types favourite gesture and how it can be recognized. The gesturing style depends on where and how the person is gesturing: close or far away from their body? Where are their palms facing? And each style of gesturing I believe is associated with a specific cognitive function. An INFJ secondly shows ENFJ gesturing, and thirdly ISTP gesturing. An ENTJ secondly shows INTJ and thirdly ESFP gesturing.