We should be using hand signals in meetings

Why Occupy can teach Zoom & Teams a thing or two

The other day, I was listening to a podcast in which there was an interview with one of the ‘organizers’ of the London Occupy protest that took place in October 2011, where the Occupy Movement were ‘working to create alternatives to an unjust and undemocratic system’.

She was describing how when someone was speaking to the gathered crowd of protestors, it wasn’t always easy to hear what was being said, or to provide coherent feedback to the speaker, so they started utilising hand signals in order to provide feedback without interrupting the speaker.

It got me thinking whether this approach should be introduced in workplace meetings, to avoid them descending into loud disagreements or monotonous diatribes.

What hand signals did Occupy use?

• Up twinkles — both hands raised with fingers pointing up and being wiggled. This indicates agreement with what is being said.
• Down twinkles — both arms raised but showing the back of both hands with fingers pointing down and wiggling. As you’d expect, this indicates disagreement with what is being said.
• Flat hands — both hands held out flat, which indicates that you are not sure, not for, or not against…