When speaking in a room filled with noise, gesture becomes more important than ever.
I discovered that even while traveling in a country where I did not speak the language, I could still speak with curious people. Today, teaching a juggling workshop in a gym full of chaotic rotations of large groups of elementary students, I rediscovered the magic of speaking without anyone needing to hear the words. The words were utterly secondary to gesture. The words needn’t have been there, really.
[Touch your shoulders, like this. Turn your hands out, like this. Now here are two imaginary dots, slightly above your head. When you throw the ball, it passes through the dots, see?]
{Watching. Smiling at a toss that’s improving. This is how you learn to juggle.}