Published in the San Diego Union-Tribune, March 2, 2026
by Neil Senturia
Here is what is wrong with writing a column.
You can’t see me waving my hands, gesturing, pointing, expressing the power of the words, the passion of the premise, a complete full body experience with my hands working overtime to guide you and shape your understanding.
Our president uses his hands a lot.
Now think about communication without your hands. Not so easy. Wharton professor Jonah Berger has conducted a study on hand gestures with a specific focus on “illustrators” that map to speech. Painting a picture in the air.
Berger points out that hand gestures “function as cognitive scaffolding,” which tends to increase the audience’s perception of the speaker’s competence, clarity and persuasiveness.
Seems a bit obvious, but let’s push a bit. Before Zoom, most selling was done in person. Before podcasts, speeches were mostly in person. We went to conventions, and we interacted in person. In person, I can see you and your hands.
Now let’s consider chatbots. I get the agentic time saver feature. But at the moment, they do not have arms to wave or gestures or handshakes. I have bought online, and I have bought in the bazaar with lots of negotiation and gestures (there are a couple that cannot be discussed in a family newspaper), and I suspect the close rate in the retail environment, whether a rug merchant or a shoe salesman, is greater in person. Can’t prove it but something to think about when you are in the selling or in persuading mode.
Everybody loves their bank, right? A different perspective is delivered courtesy of Oren Cass, the chief economist at American Compass, a conservative economic think tank. He has written a massive article in The New York Times, and his primary argument is this: Banks could not give a sniff about your money. Money on deposit actually costs them money. That’s why they charge you fees.
The way they make real money is by “providing advisory services, executing complex financial engineering schemes, trading stocks and bonds, managing other people’s money, issuing credit cards and so on.” The idea of an actual vault that holds your money safely is gone with the dodo birds.
Welcome to financialization. Just four easy payments. And 18.7% for the privilege.
Cass is powerful in his condemnation of this current financial nihilism, a business model built on gaming the system, algorithmic decisions, without even knowing what is being traded. I assure you his anger is palpable without ever seeing his hands. A financial death spiral, arm waving on the way down.
Add to that the coming power of AI and its unknown impacts, and it is clearly rational to be concerned. Get yours while you can is becoming the default mode of behavior. Excuse me while I cut in front of you.
While on a very long sailboat race last week, my partner expounded on the Great Filter theory. Essentially, a discussion about life on other planets. If you consider AI and the current world spinning out of control, self-focused behavior might reflect a belief that some things we are sure of are not actually forever and ever.
Finally, a quick look at the power of charisma. The classic posture is that the CEO needs to exhibit charisma, which is often characterized as boisterous, dominant and loud. See above paragraphs about waving your arms.
Charisma can prioritize style over substance and quiet leadership. And it can then obscure solid technical excellence delivered in a less-than-compelling and stentorian presentation.
The CEO’s job is to explain and convince an investor in 10 to 15 minutes to become a true believer and to part with his money. I characterize it as sophisticated begging. But if your product, platform or service is complex, not so easy.
I can explain the basics of Uber or DoorDash in under two minutes but try to explain Palantir in under an hour.
Investors like sound bites and pedigree (your team worked at Google, Facebook or Meta), even if all they really did was sweep the floor. Sprinkle some star power on your charisma, and maybe they write the check. Whether they understand the product or not.
And on your way out the door, you can always use those hand gestures.
Rule 819: “The hard way is the easy way,” Garry Kasparov, chess grandmaster