How to Sign Focus in American Sign Language

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), focus is commonly signed by holding both flat hands beside your face, palms facing each other like a horse's blinders, and moving them forward away from your face. The sign suggests narrowing your field of view to one thing. The same sign is often used for related ideas such as pay attention and concentrate.

Two points can change the answer. First, sign languages differ by country: ASL is used in the US and parts of Canada, while British Sign Language and others have their own signs, so this description applies only to ASL. Second, the sign above expresses mental focus. If you mean focus in the camera sense, such as a sharp image, the blinders sign may not be the clearest choice, and no confirmed source was available here for a separate technical sign.

How to sign focus step by step

• 1. Make a flat hand with each hand: fingers together and straight, thumb resting alongside. This is often called a B handshape.
• 2. Raise both hands to the sides of your face, roughly level with your eyes, palms facing each other with your face between them.
• 3. Move both hands forward together, away from your face, in a short, controlled motion. Some signers angle the hands slightly toward each other as they move, which emphasizes the narrowing.
• 4. Pair the movement with a matching facial expression, such as a steady, concentrated look. In ASL, facial expression is part of the grammar and meaning, not decoration.

How to check that you are signing it correctly

• Handshape: your fingers stay together and flat; spread or curled fingers can make the sign look like a different word.
• Palm orientation: your palms face each other, not toward the person you are signing to.
• Location: the movement starts beside your eyes, which signals the idea of vision or attention.
• Movement: both hands move together and in the same direction; an uneven or one-handed movement weakens the meaning.
• Expression: your face matches the meaning rather than looking neutral or distracted.

A mirror or your own camera can confirm that these elements look the way you intend. It cannot confirm that a fluent signer would read the sign naturally in context. Regional and personal variation exists, so the most reliable check is to compare your sign with a video from a reputable ASL dictionary or to ask a Deaf signer or qualified ASL instructor.

Making the sign readable on a video call

Because this sign happens beside your face and moves toward the camera, it is easy to lose on video. These steps help the other person see it clearly.

• 1. Confirm the camera is working: open your call app or the operating system's camera app and check that live video appears. Seeing the camera listed in settings only means the system detects it; a moving self-view shows it is actually capturing video.
• 2. Frame your signing space: position the camera so your head, shoulders and the space around both sides of your face are visible, with room above your hands. Sign focus in self-view and make sure neither hand leaves the frame.
• 3. Check sharpness: watch whether the image blurs as your hands move toward the camera. If autofocus hunts or blurs your hands, try sitting a little farther back or using your camera software's fixed-focus option if it offers one.
• 4. Light your face and hands from the front: a bright window or lamp behind you can turn your hands into silhouettes and hide your handshape.
• 5. Review your background: a plain physical background usually makes hand movement easiest to follow. Virtual background and blur effects are generated by the call software and can cut off or smear fingers during fast movement, so test with them switched off if your hands look unstable.

Your self-view shows what your camera captures before it is sent. It does not show what the other person receives, because the call connection can compress video or lower its frame rate and blur fast hand movements. To check call quality, ask the other participant whether they can see your handshape clearly, or record a short test call and watch it back.

Gaps in this guide

No sourced reference material was supplied for this article, so the sign description reflects commonly taught ASL rather than a cited dictionary entry. No specific camera settings, lighting levels or video-quality thresholds were verified for signing on video, so none are recommended here. If precise meaning matters, such as for teaching, interpreting or formal communication, confirm the sign with a qualified ASL source.