Open outcry
![Until 2009,[1] trades on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange always involved a face-to-face interaction. There is one podium/desk on the trading floor for each of the exchange's three thousand or so stocks.](/Images/godic/202501/31/NYSE-floor4438.jpg")
![The New York stock exchange trading floor in September 1963, before the introduction of electronic readouts and computer screens.](/Images/godic/202501/31/NY_stock_exchange_traders_floor_LC-U9-10548-64438.jpg")
Open outcry is the name of a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange typically on a trading floor. It involves shouting and the use of hand signals to transfer information primarily about buy and sell orders. The part of the trading floor where this takes place is called a pit.