Inflection... and Pointing

Have you ever given thought to the way that you talk to people? I don't mean having good manners or whether or not you are nice to people. I am talking about the things you do and say... or the things you do when you say certain things...

Example: The other day I was talking to my step daughter about eye brows. (Don't ask why... you really don't want to know... OK I'll tell you. Mine are a little crooked... new girl at the salon. Boo!)
Anywhooooo... While I was talking I kept pointing to my eyebrows. Like she wouldn't know what I was talking about if I wasn't pointing at them. Duh... she knows what an eye brow is, but I couldn't say it without pointing. Weird. I was talking to my husband about a mixing bowl when I was baking something. I kept lifting it up to show him like he didn't know what a mixing bowl is.

I don't think people are stupid, gosh no! But maybe I have in my subconscious somewhere that if a person can see what I am talking about, they have a better chance of understanding.

And it's not just with objects!

After the eyebrow incident, I started paying attention to how I was saying things. I especially notice it when I read to Zoie. If you have read Are You My Mother as many times as I have, you may know exactly what I am talking about.

"He looked up he did not see her" 

"He looked down he did not see her"

Now tell me you didn't just do the same thing when you read that!?!? 

There is inflection in my voice. When I say up, my voice goes high. When I say down, my voice goes low. Why is that? Everyone uses inflection when they speak, don't they? But the pointing... do you ever catch yourself doing the same thing??

Now I probably won't change the way that I speak. I may, however, stop the pointing. I wonder if it makes people feel dumb? I don't know.  What are your thoughts?