Previous discussions of pointing have largely evaded a central question: How is an actof pointing even recognized as communicative in the first place? Here I argue—building onclassic and recent work in pragmatics—that pointing is designed to deviate minimally from mereattending. This basic design is found throughout the diverse universe of human pointing—fromthe most familiar, conventional forms to the most exotic and ad hoc—and may even extend tocases of pointing in non-human animals. Further, I show that this framework lights up promisingavenues for further research on the emergence of communicative forms on developmental,cultural, and evolutionary timescales