Why making finger quote marks may cost your credibility The "speech marks" created by curling the index and middle fingers of both hands, was named ahead of motioning people to "talk to the hand" by extending one arm towards them while looking away, or touching a finger to the nose to suggest "mind your own business." Indicating "blah blah blah" and pretending to yawn were among the other most irksome and non-obscene gestures named by 2,000 Britons for the study, as was pretending to type on a keyboard to signal "email me." "The 'speech marks" gesture is often used to emphasise sarcasm, which is arguably a big part of the British sense of humour, but it's clearly an action that irritates more than it amuses," said a spokesman for Goggle Eyes, a software developer that commissioned the study. We all use hand gestures to express ourselves from time to time and some have a stronger place in our daily communication than others. Some can be seen as patronising or unnecessarily dramatic, which is probably why so many of us find them a little tedious. The study found that one in four people tried to avoid using hand gestures and that a fifth of Britons were embarrassed by how much they relied on them, while a third said they were less likely to trust someone who they believed used too many. However, wiggling an imaginary glass to ask for a drink, signalling for a waiter at a restaurant or asking someone to be quiet by placing a finger to your lips were judged to be useful. "While a hand gesture can be a powerful communication tool, using too many or simply some of the more annoying ones is a sure-fire way to losing credibility," added the spokesman. It's about being able to recognise how to use gestures and for which audiences. Sometimes they're funny and entertaining but, often, they're just annoying. The survey found that people use an average of four hand gestures each day. More than half of the people questioned said they had become angry when they felt that someone had used their hands to express themselves too often.