This paper argues that Nonverbal Communication (NVC) forms an important part of everyday speech transmission, and, therefore, might occupy a more central position in second and foreign language (L2) teaching than is currently the case. The opening section examines the role played by NVC in a three-part conversational exchange before moving on to a review of the literature which supports the notion that speech-related gestures (i.e. illustrators) have a definite message-carrying function. Two illustrative gestures are analyzed in an extract of authentic video, and it is suggested that this type of gesture may assist in the decoding of speech at the while-listening stage of L2 listening comprehension.