If you see a teacher from school or lecturer or even your doctor while you are out living your personal life do you generally take the minute it takes to say hi, wave or acknowledge that person in any way? I always thought it wasn't a big deal and would usually pretend not to notice, be busy on my phone, engrossed in reading the Mac and cheese frozen meal label. Yes I was at Carrefour in this scenario. If eye contact was accidentally made then yes I would smile, wave, if they were close enough even say hi. But it was all done with dread and a heavy heart.
Today while I was trying to decide whether two punnets of strawberries were worth six dollars (yes all my scenarios involve food- but notice how I've changed my general diet to a more health conscious one!) a random elderly patient walked passed me saying hello! Followed by the sing song pattern of - how are you? Good thanks and yourself- fine thanks- that's good! All without anyone stopping what they were doing, he was already out of the aisle by then and I'd already moved onto the lemons, but I did appreciate being acknowledged. I haven't really given this much thought before but I guess it's human nature to like to be recognised for your position in a community. Or maybe even just recognised. I felt pretty smiley and upbeat after that quick interaction and it got me thinking of how many missed opportunities I've had of making someone else feel just as smiley. But then again if you saw an old high school teacher at a supermarket with his family/ kids wouldn't it feel like you were invading their personal space? There must be some list of rules with regards to social interactions towards professionals in a non professional environment. Ie if I bump into my accountant while at the botanical gardens. This is pretty far fetched for two reasons, first being that I don't have an accountant, and secondly I can't remember the last time I've even been to a park! But for arguments sake if I did, it would be handy having a summarised flowchart to follow including the different variables like- are her children present? Then say a quick greeting while complimenting her kids. Does she look like she doesn't want to be seen with person standing a little too close to her? Don't say hi and quickly walk in a different direction. Is she holding what looks like a suitcase of cash handcuffed to her wrist while frantically texting someone? Merge into the bushes and watch intently! She may need a witness if the drop off goes bad! I would definitely laminate and wear that flowchart on a lanyard. I recognise myself as being socially awkward at times so any type of cheat sheet is more than welcome:)
No comments:
Post a Comment