foxfield wrote:
Hypothetical scenario. Your name is Dr Jones and you are attending a busy science conference. You have a name badge that is clearly marked "Dr Jones" in large letters. You are standing in the room by yourself when you see another academic who you don't recognise. He approaches you. As he approaches you see his eyes moving over your name badge. When he gets close to you he smiles and asks "Dr Jones?"
I would hate being in the situation of standing by myself in a large room. If I were in that situation, I would probably be thinking about the next seminar I was going to attend (perhaps reading through conference materials). Or, deciding if I had time to walk around and look at the exhibits.
At that moment, if someone approached me, I would probably be slightly startled (that someone is coming up to me, saying my name).
The following thoughts would go through my mind:
- How does he know who I am? Oh, that’s right, I have a name badge on.
- Who is this person? Do I recognize him? Why is he approaching me?
Uncertain who this was and why they were approaching me, I would simply respond "Uh...hello". And, wait for them to explain why they came up to me.