This is the one everyone talks about, and for good reason — it can be genuinely confusing the first few times.
A side-to-side movement of the head that can mean yes, no, okay, I understand, I acknowledge you, I’m listening, or sometimes just “I’m being polite but I have absolutely no idea what you just said.”
Context is everything. You’ll figure it out. And you might start doing it yourself by day three without realising. It’s infectious, much like a yawn in a meeting.
Well Meaning Confusion
If your Google Maps dies, ask someone on the street for directions, and there’s a reasonable chance they’ll walk you there.
Other times, they’ll give you completely wrong directions with the full confidence of a man pointing at the North Star, not out of malice but because saying “I don’t know” feels rude to them.
If three people give you three different answers, it may be time to figure out how to get Google Maps working again.