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A “Handy” Way to Communicate: Using Hand Signals and Accessories to Communicate Underwater

COMMUNICATION IS THE act of exchanging information by signals or messages, including writing, talking and gesturing. The key word here is “exchange.” As we know, communicating clearly with someone is not always easy, even when the conversation is conducted using words spoken on dry land. For instance, if you are across a crowded, noisy room from the person you are trying to communicate with, they might not hear your message. Or if you’re speaking English to a non-English speaker, the message might not be understood even if the person is near enough for you to whisper in their ear. For solid communication to happen, your message must travel in a loop that sees it conveyed, received, understood, acknowledged and appropriately responded to. If the message gets hung up along the way, communication breaks down. This process becomes more complicated when we put a regulator in our mouth and jump into the water. For starters, having the regulator in our mouth makes talking difficult. Secondly, water makes sound waves go wonky, playing tricks on how we perceive sound underwater. This is why, as part of the Open Water Diver certification course, we all learn a variety of underwater hand signals commonly used in diving. In this article we’ll cover using hand signals and accessories for effective underwater communications.

Please use this DIVER MAGAZINE link below for the full article by  Barry & Ruth Guimbellot

Underwater Hand Signals - Dive Training Magazine (dtmag.com)