{"id":54831,"date":"2026-08-24T11:50:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turner.nl\/uncategorized\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-fist\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:51:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:51:04","slug":"column-by-peter-de-bruin-fist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turner.nl\/en\/blog-en\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-fist\/","title":{"rendered":"Column by Peter de Bruin | “Fist”"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Column by Peter de Bruin<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

'Fist'<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Peter de Bruin wonders how we\u2019ll greet each other again after this wave of the coronavirus. The distance was awful, but it also had its benefits. Sometimes you need distance to appreciate what you have together. That\u2019s important even after the pandemic. Do digital meetings create distance? <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

'Fist'<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

We\u2019ve all been there: you hold out your hand to greet someone, but they don\u2019t notice. It\u2019s a bit of an awkward situation. I remember that Toon Hermans was great at exaggerating situations like that in his New Year\u2019s Eve comedy show. Something like, \u201cYeah, I tried to make the best of it\u2014I waved my hand and even smoothed my hair into place!\u201d <\/p>

<\/p>

There are various traditions when it comes to greeting people. In the Netherlands, we\u2019re used to shaking hands\u2014aside from close friends and family who hug or kiss each other. That was before the pandemic. Now, social distancing is the order of the day. An elbow bump or a fist bump is now the best we can do in business and social settings. <\/p>

<\/p>

So the pandemic has done a lot of harm in this regard. That much is clear. We\u2019re longing once again for what we were used to, including wild crowds at parties and festivals. Yet there was also a cathartic effect to our \u201cpunishment of freedom.\u201d You could avoid many obligations with a simple \u201cCOVID\u201d or \u201cquarantine\u201d excuse. \u201cI\u2019m not allowed to\u201d served as an excuse to skip work for a while\u2014or, for example, to avoid visiting your mother-in-law. <\/p>

<\/p>

Besides, distance can sometimes be a good thing. Distancing yourself from the system or the people you belong to can provide insight. A relationship sometimes needs some distance to appreciate what you actually have together. What goes wrong when you miss someone? I\u2019m currently working with someone like that in a coaching session. The feedback they gave each other was a bit harsh. The team members involved all need to mull that over for a while. The first instinct is \u201clove it or leave it.\u201d To turn away. But then, afterward, with that distance comes reflection. They do need each other\u2019s complementary qualities to function as a team. Connection then arises from free will\u2014with a willingness to take each other\u2019s \u201cuser manual\u201d into account. <\/p>

<\/p>

In Germany, there\u2019s a saying that beautifully illustrates this idea of a free commitment: \u201centweder du kommst oder nicht, wir freuen uns\u201d (whether you come or not, we\u2019re happy). Even without the coronavirus, once things return to normal, it\u2019s good to keep some distance from one another every now and then. To realize just how much you need the other person. You\u2019ll see that afterward, you\u2019ll start greeting each other in a different way. <\/p>

<\/p>

Soon, once this wave passes, there will be no more restrictions on our freedom. We\u2019ll be able to visit each other again. Thanks to the success of Zoom and Teams, a hybrid model\u2014somewhere between the digital and the physical\u2014is emerging, one we\u2019ll need to explore further. In this context, the balance between physical and digital distance becomes very noticeable. When do we meet in person, and when do we meet digitally? Setting functionality aside\u2014after all, creative processes can be quite challenging in a digital setting\u2014the question is whether the choice between in-person and digital says anything about the relationship. If you feel free not to, then distance isn\u2019t such a bad thing after all. <\/p>

<\/p>

I\u2019m curious to see how we\u2019ll greet each other again soon. Will we just go back to shaking hands, or will we stick with the fist bump\u2014at a distance? Even if you hold out your fist, the other person might miss it. It\u2019s an awkward situation. I wonder who\u2019s going to make a joke about it on the New Year\u2019s Eve special. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meet the Author<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\"\"