Hand Signals
What is Hand Signals about ?
Hand signals are symbolic ways for participants to attract the facilitator’s attention and/or convey information. The facilitator introduces a variety of these at the beginning of the event, and asks participants to use the appropriate hand signals rather than interrupting or just chiming in with their input.
The most basic hand signal involves simply raising a hand or finger to indicate that you wish to speak. The facilitator keeps track of the hands raised, and calls on participants to speak in turn.
There are several variations of this, which allow the facilitator to track which comments may be more relevant, and which to prioritise:
- Direct Point. Raising two fingers (the index finger of each hand) indicates that the participant has a direct response to what has been said. Even if other hands were already raised in the room, the facilitator may choose to take a direct point first, before the topic is changed.
- Technical point. This involves making a T shape with two hands. It is used either to input factual information relevant to the conversation which another speaker may have missed or been unaware of, or to bring up practical issues (such as a time check, or request to open a window). Again, this type of point is usually prioritised.
- Proposal. This involves making a P shape with two hands, and is used when a participant has a suggestion for a way to move forward. It is most useful for collaborative decision making.
- Clarification. The participant makes a C shape with one hand to indicate that they haven’t fully understood what was being said, or need more information about a certain aspect of what has been expressed.
There are also a range of hand signals which can be used to convey information to others in the room without the participants in question needing to speak:
- Jazz hands. Holding both hands up, palms out, and waving them from side to side. This is like a silent clap (so less disruptive) and is used to indicate approval or agreement to what is being said. It is useful for getting a general sense of how much support there is for various ideas, and also to prevent unnecessary repetition, as there is no need for lots of people to speak just to voice that they agree with what has already been expressed. An alternative signal with a similar meaning involves rubbing the thumb and fingers together, as though silently clicking the fingers.
- Speak up. Either one hand is cupped behind an ear, or both hands are held face-up and raised up and down slightly, to indicate difficulty hearing what is being said.
- Slow down. Hands are held face-down, and moved up and down slightly. An alternative that’s sometimes used is to make an L shape with one hand to indicate ‘language’. This is useful when not all participants share the same native language, and indicates that they’re struggling to understand.
At times the facilitator may get a sense of something by asking everyone in the group to convey their opinion or position on something without speaking:
- Raising hands (for example, asking participants to raise their hand if they’re familiar with a particular concept)
- Temperature check. This is used to get a sense of how much support there is for an idea. Hands are held face down and waved from side to side. Participants who like the idea in question hold their hands at head level. Those who disapprove hold them at waist level. They can also hold them somewhere in between to show their viewpoint is neutral. The same information can be conveyed by asking participants to hold thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs to the side.
There are also hand signals which can be used by the facilitator to communicate with the group:
- Raising an arm to call the attention of the group, and bring the room to silence. This can be used following a break or a breakout session as an alternative to either ringing a bell or raising your voice to try to be heard, and is especially useful in large groups. The facilitator informs the group beforehand that if he/she raises an arm, as soon as participants notice this they should also raise an arm, and stop talking. This continues until everyone in the room has noticed, all arms are raised, and no one is talking. It usually only takes a few seconds, so can be very effective, and can save a lot of stress and a sore throat for a facilitator.
- Wrap up. The facilitator rolls their index fingers around each other without touching them, to indicate that the speaker has been speaking for a while, and should aim to bring their point to a close. This can be interpreted as rude, so should be used sparingly. If speakers have been given a time limit, other prearranged signals can be used to indicate the time is almost up. A simple variant of this isn’t a hand signal at all - the facilitator simply stands up and steps towards the participant in question.
Hand signals are useful for any group meeting or workshop.
Audience
Is participant experience relevant for Hand Signals ?
Do hand signals work online
Hand signals are particularly useful online, as it’s essential during a video conferencing call that only one person speaks at a time. It can be very difficult to host such a call with more than a handful of people without using hand signals.
Zoom and other video conferencing platforms have a built in ‘raise hand’ function, which allows participants to digitally raise a hand. This can be preferential for large groups, as the participants who have raised their digital hands are automatically moved to the top of the facilitator’s screen, making it easier to keep track.
If using digital hands the facilitator should explain how to raise a digital hand at the beginning of the event, as participants with less digital literacy may struggle with this. For this reason, it can also be good to offer the option to also raise their hand physically (providing their cameras are turned on) in case anyone is struggling to get that function to work for them.
If the group is not overly large, physical hand signals are still frequently used online, and provide the added flexibility of additional hand signals to the basic ‘raise hand’ signal. Jazz hands are particularly useful online, especially as a round of applause doesn’t register across multiple devices linked to a video conferencing platform. Some hand signals may need a visual adjustment - for example, the hand position for temperature check would need to be visible to the camera, so using high, mid and low points of the screen will be more appropriate then the usual points of indication (waist height is rarely visible online).
Hand signals are particularly useful online, as it’s essential during a video conferencing call that only one person speaks at a time. It can be very difficult to host such a call with more than a handful of people without using hand signals.
Zoom and other video conferencing platforms have a built in ‘raise hand’ function, which allows participants to digitally raise a hand. This can be preferential for large groups, as the participants who have raised their digital hands are automatically moved to the top of the facilitator’s screen, making it easier to keep track.
If using digital hands the facilitator should explain how to raise a digital hand at the beginning of the event, as participants with less digital literacy may struggle with this. For this reason, it can also be good to offer the option to also raise their hand physically (providing their cameras are turned on) in case anyone is struggling to get that function to work for them.
If the group is not overly large, physical hand signals are still frequently used online, and provide the added flexibility of additional hand signals to the basic ‘raise hand’ signal. Jazz hands are particularly useful online, especially as a round of applause doesn’t register across multiple devices linked to a video conferencing platform. Some hand signals may need a visual adjustment - for example, the hand position for temperature check would need to be visible to the camera, so using high, mid and low points of the screen will be more appropriate then the usual points of indication (waist height is rarely visible online).
How do hand signals contribute to an empowering experience?
Hand signals help to empower everyone in the group to contribute, especially quieter members who may not have the opportunity to speak at meetings where the culture is for people to jump in and speak whenever they have a point to make. The use of hand signals can prevent the agenda being dominated by those who have more charisma, more confidence, or simply a louder voice.
project
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Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. Find more information about the program and its goals here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/.
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