New research from scholars, consulting teams and other experts can give you and your organization the knowledge you need to make sharper strategic decisions. We’ve curated a set of counterintuitive insights, adapted from the January-February issue of our magazine that you can apply right away.

RESEARCH BRIEF: LEADERSHIP SKILLS

HAND GESTURES MAKE YOU MORE PERSUASIVE

Whether they’re trying to highlight a key idea in a presentation, express frustration to teammates, or explain a concept in a pitch meeting, many people use hand gestures to accompany their message. But does “talking with your hands” actually drive a point home? And does the type of gesture matter?

To explore those questions, researchers used video analysis software to examine nearly 200,000 clips from 2,184 TED Talks uploaded to the TED Talk website from 2006 to 2017. They sorted hand movements into three categories: illustrators, which visually represent an object or concept; highlighters, which emphasize a point; and unrelated gestures. The researchers found that indeed, people who used their hands more had more-popular videos. However, when they isolated the gestures by type, they found that not all of them were equally impactful: Only increases in illustrator gestures were associated with greater video “likes.”

The study’s authors say that their findings provide important insight into the ways gestures help us explain complicated concepts and how we can use them to make messages more effective.

RESEARCH BRIEF: TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

USE COPYCATS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

When a competitor knocks off your product, it can feel as if that company is profiting at your expense. But new research shows that imitators can provide valuable, low-cost insights that strengthen your next offering.

A study of the video game industry looked at 438 PlayStation two games that had sequels and analyzed the impact of “near clone” replicas released between the original game and its sequel. The imitators copied core features of the original games but introduced small variations.

The researchers found that the more imitators there were in the market, the higher the quality of a game’s official sequel became, as measured by an analysis of product reviews. This effect was especially strong when the imitators had a large share of the market. Their prominence made it easier for the original developers to observe and analyze changes in the copycat games and gather richer feedback from customers and experts and more-reliable performance data. As a result, they were able to draw clearer insights from the knockoffs, particularly about which variations to adopt or reject.

RESEARCH BRIEF: STARTUPS

TO CRUSH THE PITCH, SKIP THE SUIT

When you’re giving a big presentation, you may think you should dress to impress. But new research shows that for startup founders, keeping it casual could help earn investors’ trust — and funding.

Researchers examined 774 pitches delivered on the U.S. TV series “Shark Tank” from 2009 to 2019. On the show contestants try to persuade a panel of prominent businesspeople (the “sharks”) to invest in their fledgling companies. The researchers used linguistic software to analyze the sharks’ discussions after each pitch — including their take on how authentic, powerful and certain the entrepreneurs seemed — and whether it resulted in an investment. When they compared that data against the formality of the lead founder’s attire, they discovered that entrepreneurs who dressed casually were 32% more likely to be funded and were more likely to be described as authentic by the sharks. That held true even after controlling for the entrepreneur’s education, age and gender, and the startup’s industry.

Anyone who has worked in a corporate environment has learned the spoken and unspoken rules of workplace attire. From expensive suits and heels to subdued colors and styles, many of us dutifully fulfilled those expectations in order to move up in our careers — a reality that is especially true for women. Traditional business attire is safe, and the rules of etiquette are often selectively and unfairly enforced depending on someone’s reputation, relationships or business results. But after getting accustomed to more casual work-from-home outfits during the COVID-19 pandemic, our tolerance for conformity — and discomfort — has changed.

Have you been rethinking your work attire as you transition back into the office, but you’re worried about what others will think? Here are a few steps to try if you’re considering making a change:

— OBSERVE OTHERS: If it feels risky to independently make a wardrobe change, look at others in your office and observe how they dress. You don’t have to follow what others are doing, but seeing others take those first steps may embolden you to make changes yourself. Observe the boundaries as well. Look for the nuances in how and when people dress down.

— EXPERIMENT AND EVALUATE: What if your colleagues aren’t noticeably changing their attire, but you feel that you should? Take the lead: Try out one particular change and evaluate how others respond. Perhaps you stop wearing a tie. Observe how (or if) people react.

— LOOK FOR THE ADVANTAGES: If you fear that dressing down might make you appear less successful to your peers or clients, fascinating research in “The Red Sneakers Effect: Inferring Status and Competence From Signals of Nonconformity” posited this: “Nonconforming behaviors, as costly and visible signals, can act as a particular form of conspicuous consumption and lead to positive inferences of status and competence in the eyes of others.”

For example, wearing sneakers to the office might make you look even more successful than if you wore what others normally wear. However, this effect only happens when it’s obvious that the behavior is intentional instead of a misjudgment of the dress code. And what counts as “intentional” is in the eye of the beholder. That is why I recommend you start with observation and experimentation.

— LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE: Now, it’s time for you to set your own dress code. Authenticity sends a powerful message, and what we are seeing now is that comfort does as well. Business executives can set the tone by demonstrating to others how the office dress code is changing. They can also discuss the boundaries so that no one gets caught in the middle

As we continue our return to the office, we have a unique opportunity to rewrite the rules of office etiquette. What behaviors will we keep? Which outdated practices no longer serve us? Let’s form new rules that create space for others to bring their authentic selves to the office. As a result, we’ll feel more fulfilled and confident, and our feet will thank us.