Jorma Panula in a teaching situation while professor at the Sibelius Academy 1990. The focus here is the size and shape of conducting batons. A very young Martin Akerwall explain his choice of baton.
A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to exaggerate and enhance the manual and bodily movements associated with directing an ensemble of musicians. Conductors view their gestures as the primary means to communicate musical ideas, whether or not they choose to use batons. Leonard Bernstein is quoted as saying, "If the conductor uses a baton, the baton itself must be a living thing, charged with a kind of electricity, which makes it an instrument of meaning in its tiniest movement." (Wikipedia)