The shoulder shrug is a universal signal of not knowing what’s going on.
According to Barbara Pease and Allan Pease, authors of “The Definitive Book of Body Language,” everybody does the shoulder shrug.
The shrug is a “good example of a universal gesture that is used to show that a person doesn’t know or doesn’t understand what you are saying,” they write.
“It’s multiple gestures that have three main parts,” they continue. “Exposed palms to show nothing is being concealed in the hands, hunched shoulders to protect the throat from attack, and raised brow, which is a universal, submissive greeting.”
