The words said are not nearly as important as the message conveyed, and both are minor compared to the reaction.yerasimos wrote:In my opinion, "Can I help you?" is not as useful as, "Hold up, dude."G.C.Montgomery wrote:On the other hand, "Could you hold up right there?" is no less of an "invite" for a conversation.
A stern "Can I help you?" or a "Could you hold up right there?" (or any variation, up to a "Stop right there!" complete with hand gestures, will all illicit the same response: a sudden stop or change of path, no matter if the "oscar" is criminally minded or just walking the same direction.
Unless, of course, he decides to push matters by being more aggressive, at which time you know what you have to do.
The professional panhandler, especially if chemically impaired, is likely to ignore all warnings, because he's heard them all. Even with a .45 pointed at his face, he might just smoothly ooze on up with either his "Say man, can I hold a dolla for a minute?" or "God bless you, sir, may I have a moment of your time?" or anything in between. Panhandlers don't tend to be violent, but you do have to answer them in a way that lets them know you won't tolerate your personal comfort zone being invaded.