Respecting People's Personal Space
Have you ever noticed how some people stand right up close to you when they talk to you, while others stand a lot further away? Have you watched where people sit when they come into an almost empty restaurant or movie theatre? They will often spread out and not sit near each other. The concept of personal space influences these behaviors. Personal space is the space that we need to have around us in order to feel comfortable, safe and respected. When people step over this invisible line we can feel crowded, threatened or uncomfortable.
We tend to have a smaller personal space with people whom we are closer to or more intimate with. We allow them to get closer when we interact and feel okay with this closeness. While we usually keep strangers at a greater distance (i.e. the movie theatre) until we get to know them and feel more comfortable with them.
Our personal space can also reflect our current feelings about someone or about our relationships. If we are angry with a close friend or spouse, we may increase our personal space with them until we resolve our conflict. Or when a person wants to intimidate someone they get “in their face” which translates
into crossing that invisible line and invading their personal space.
The size of our personal space can be determined by our past personal experiences, be gender-based or culturally-based. Different cultures have different sizes of personal space. When some people speak to us they stand very close because that is normal for their culture. For other people it is normal to stand much further away. Generally, people in Mediterranean countries and Latin American countries tend to be more intimate and stand closer to one another. In Northern European countries and in some places in North America, people are more reserved and tend to prefer greater personal space.
When you are communicating with someone it is important to be alert to the non-verbal cues that they are sending as to whether they are comfortable with how close you are sitting or standing in relation to them. Watch their facial expressions for discomfort. Are they freely talking with you or do they seem preoccupied or distracted? This may be a sign that they are feeling uncomfortable. Are they slowly backing away from you? Do you consciously or unconsciously keep inching toward them?
How might we let someone know if they are standing too close to us? We could slowly back-up or change where we are standing. If we are sitting we could extend our legs in a way that creates more space around us or we could verbally ask them to stand a little further away.
We tend to have a smaller personal space with people whom we are closer to or more intimate with. We allow them to get closer when we interact and feel okay with this closeness. While we usually keep strangers at a greater distance (i.e. the movie theatre) until we get to know them and feel more comfortable with them.
Our personal space can also reflect our current feelings about someone or about our relationships. If we are angry with a close friend or spouse, we may increase our personal space with them until we resolve our conflict. Or when a person wants to intimidate someone they get “in their face” which translates
into crossing that invisible line and invading their personal space.
The size of our personal space can be determined by our past personal experiences, be gender-based or culturally-based. Different cultures have different sizes of personal space. When some people speak to us they stand very close because that is normal for their culture. For other people it is normal to stand much further away. Generally, people in Mediterranean countries and Latin American countries tend to be more intimate and stand closer to one another. In Northern European countries and in some places in North America, people are more reserved and tend to prefer greater personal space.
When you are communicating with someone it is important to be alert to the non-verbal cues that they are sending as to whether they are comfortable with how close you are sitting or standing in relation to them. Watch their facial expressions for discomfort. Are they freely talking with you or do they seem preoccupied or distracted? This may be a sign that they are feeling uncomfortable. Are they slowly backing away from you? Do you consciously or unconsciously keep inching toward them?
How might we let someone know if they are standing too close to us? We could slowly back-up or change where we are standing. If we are sitting we could extend our legs in a way that creates more space around us or we could verbally ask them to stand a little further away.
Posted by Barb Small at 4/20/2010 1:48 AM 
Categories: Effective Communication, body language, Non-verbal communication, Communication Skills
Tags: body language clear communication communication skills Effective Communication non-verbal communication
Categories: Effective Communication, body language, Non-verbal communication, Communication Skills
Tags: body language clear communication communication skills Effective Communication non-verbal communication
You write very interesting articles can't wait for more posts
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Hello I came across you post and bookmarked it for future referrence, can't wait for more articles
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Want to thank you for interesting articles dude. Keep posting
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Informative and persuasive.
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