Picture this - you've entered a shop and, it soon becomes evident, a lively conversation between its staff.
They stop only to stare at you, before continuing on with their monotonous littany including the inevitable Oh-My-Gods, He-Didn't!s, and of course, the And-Then-She-Saids.
This morning's incident occurred in what some Australians affectionately know as 'fair dinkum bargain stores'. Others sometimes refer to them as 'dollar shops' as the humble dollar can yield much inside their doors.
The staffer in question, to my gratitude, bucked all stereotypes by being male, loudly bitching about an incident with colleagues to clearly more than those few co-workers in his immediate presence. It was quite a sight to behold.
Bundles of minutes passed. Soon it was a good quarter of an hour and this aisle-bound confessional was by now much more than momentary gossip - it was annoying!! But before I could move, a woman with a pram approached the staffer in question - with a question. His barrage stopped abruptly.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but excuse me, could I ask you a question?" she quizzed.
I was hoping - no, expecting the next line to be assertive with a twist of sarcasm. However, what followed was merely a fluffy, practically apologetic query about the location of makeup cotton pads on sale.
Our salesman answered hurriedly - with the merest of a glance to his customer - only to turn back to his colleagues and continue with his epic tale. Meanwhile his pram-pushing customer presumably continued on her search for makeup pads.
Once upon a time, we humans were taught that the two greatest things to possess when entering a room were eye contact and a smile.
I still try to carry these little words with me wherever I go - whether it's the local supermarket or the most formal of functions.
Whether or not you are the customer or staff, it's important that we don't lose these most personal of forms of communications in the world.
Eye contact lets the recipient know that you see and hear them.
Couple it together with a smile and you've got access to one of the most powerful duets in history.
In this ever-growing world of ours, it can only help to let people know that they still exist.
