I talk with my hands, as they say. Especially on video calls. Within the past month during team meetings, we’ve noticed that sometimes—seemingly randomly—strange and wonderful things would pop up on our screens. We knew it must have been instigated by some hand gesture I was making, but none of us could figure it out—What was it!?

Many minutes of all of us twisting, contorting, flapping, waving into our respective cameras still generated no results. It seemed almost perfectly unpredictable. How do we make those balloons return? Why am I getting a bubble floating around my screen and nobody else is?

Thanks to a recent catch up with longtime colleague Tia Quinn at BOOST Collaborative, I learned the secret & wanted to share with you in the video below. As leader-facilitators of possibility and abundance, we have tools at our fingertips to inspire a little burst of joy within our virtual meetings. The latest Zoom update offers some opportunities.

A few notes:

• I have Version: 5.16.2 (23409) of Zoom. We’ve noticed that not everyone can make these things happen—so, it’s probably related to the version you are using.

• I do have the featured turned on to “recognize hand gestures”—find that in your Zoom window by clicking the arrow next to “Reactions”.

• It may take some practice and shifting around to get the right camera angle. For me, it turned out that doing gestures kind of near my right shoulder caught the camera the best.

• And, yes, this post will likely be outdated in 15 minutes. There will be a new bell or whistle. This will be old news. But, today, in this moment—it’s just such a sweet opportunity how could we resist sharing with you?

💥 UPDATE (4/25/24)

Gratefully, I see that someone posted to let us know that the Zoom update itself is not the the joy bringer—it’s the Apple macOS. Good to know. Zoom even put a support article up that lets us know Zoom doesn’t control the reactions like I show in the video above.

However, there is yet another Zoom update I downloaded today that works on both Mac and PC! I tested with a PC so, yeah. It works. All you need to do:

>Update to Zoom Workplace Version: 6.0.2 (33403) and then click on the heart that says React>Send with Effect. There are so many choices and ways to share your vibe. Abundance, hello! 👇

How does this generate abundance, you ask?

Well, offering these positive gestures connects with generosity and overall positivity. The virtual heart shower reminds us that there is enough for everyone. When we use our roles to broadcast, share and generate love and gratitude, we claim our own power and we open ourselves to more possibility. THAT is where abundance lies. And when we do it, others are energized by us. And when they are energized, we are more energized. Then, before you know it, we are co-generating a deeper experience of wealth, health, freedom and love.

And you know who benefits from increased wealth, health, freedom and love?

Well, you.

Your colleagues.

And—most importantly—the young people and families you support.

Still not sure? I suggest you follow the emerging field of neuroleadership that shows how abundance thinking works with your brain. Here’s a starter article by Dr. Tara Swart Bieber.

In the meantime, do you know—you really do amazing work in the world!

And you are not alone.

We’ve got you. ❤️