Was walking down the street the other day, and a car passed by.
A woman in the back seat was looking at me, and started waving.
I didn’t recognise her but she obviously thought she recognised me.
In that moment I was a little paralysed – Are they actually looking at me?
Do I wave back? What’s if I’m mistaken and they aren’t looking at me – will I look like a goose if I wave back? Should I look around?
Do I ignore? Do I just look confused?
Here’s what I decided afterwards:
- Give them a big smile and a gentle head nod of acknowledgment
- That way, if they are looking at you, they feel acknowledged (and you don’t come off as rude)
- And if they aren’t looking at you (you misread it), you don’t look like a goose
- Plus, if they were looking at you, and they were mistaken (they thought you were someone else), now they’ll wonder if you are actually someone famous and they just got a nod and a smile from a celebrity…
It’s a win all round.
