Yes, that’s exactly what I would do if I had to go direct. I would just go back to my tried and true opener, “So before I caught up to you, you looked like you were thinking some deep, deep thoughts.” Substitute your own favorite opener. Whatever opener you use here should get you to topic 1. I don’t like complimenting her shoes or clothes because these leave you in the same positiion as the direct opener, without an obvious place to go, so choose something that actually creates conversation, something equivalent to my Deep Thoughts.
–Lee
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