Selling

Don’t Stand So Close to Me

John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

12 Aug 2012 • 2 min read

The concept of personal space affects nearly every facet of our daily lives. It determines how close we stand to strangers in an elevator, and how long we linger in an embrace with a friend.

Personal space is the immediate area surrounding you that you recognize as “your” space. It violates social norms if someone enters this space without a clear reason. Personal space varies by region. In places with extremely dense populations, like India, personal space is necessarily smaller. Anthropologist Edward Hall wrote that Americans share similar ideas of personal space with people in Europe, although Americans prefer a slightly larger personal space.

The social norms governing personal space can be temporarily ignored during an emergency, like during a rescue mission or when administering the Heimlich maneuver to a choking person. Otherwise, violating someone’s personal space can make them feel anxious or uncomfortable.

Personal space also affects how we treat others. According to an article published by Everyday Health, British researchers from the University of Lincoln conducted a study in which the behavior of game show contestants was analyzed. Their results indicate that humans are hard-wired to “love thy neighbor.” In the game show, contestants vote off who they perceive to be weaker competitors. If the decision is clear (if a contestant consistently answers questions incorrectly), then there is no ambiguity and contestants will vote that person off.

However, if it is less clear who to vote off, contestants are less likely to vote off someone if they are standing next to them and were more likely to vote off someone who was standing further away from them. In this way, personal space played a large role in how contestants made decisions.

Being aware of personal space is important because it affects our business, personal relationships, and even interactions with strangers. The goal is to find that balance. You don’t want to be too close as to be cloying, but you also don’t want to be too far away because you might be perceived as aloof. Take cues from those around you as to what constitutes proper personal space when meeting someone new, having a conversation, or traveling.