Personal space is a special area around a person, penetration into which other people can cause unpleasant emotions and a feeling of discomfort. To protect your personal space, you must know its boundaries in various situations and be able to defend your interests.
Instruction manual
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Each person has 5 zones of personal space, for some people they are a little wider, for others - already. It depends on the personal qualities of each individual, as well as on his nationality - the zone is wider among the northern peoples, and narrower among the southern ones. Those. The Spaniard’s personal area may be intimate for the Swede.
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The hidden zone is the narrowest, up to 15 cm. This is the zone for the closest - children, parents, loved ones. Penetration into this zone of strangers causes a whole gamut of emotions - from fear to a flash of aggression.
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The intimate zone is from 15 to 45 cm. Some friends and relatives are let into this space. The invasion of this zone is perceived as an attack by the enemy and causes strong negative emotions in a person.
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Personal area - from 46 to 120 cm. It is allowed to approach well-known people - friends, pals, colleagues, etc. to this distance. If a person from this category enters the intimate zone, a flash of indignation may await him, if he moves away, the interlocutor will feel hurt.
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Social zone - from 1.2 to 3.6 m. This is a space for unfamiliar personalities - sellers, consultants, postmen. With the invasion of this category of people in a personal or social zone, a person feels the danger, seek to resort to the support of loved ones.
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A public zone is a distance of 3.6 m. This is a zone of teachers, speakers, speaking to a large audience. When an alien tries to come closer, a person in such a situation most often leaves.
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The main factor that causes penetration into someone else’s personal space is individual differences in the size of the zones. If two unfamiliar interlocutors who should be in each other's social zone, this difference is quite large, one of them will feel an invasion of their personal space.
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A polite removal will help to avoid an invasion - a well-mannered person will understand the reason for your "departure" and treat this with understanding. A less delicate individual can be transparently hinted that it is more convenient for you to communicate at a distance of at least your outstretched arm. From completely dull, you can "hide" behind any object - a table, chair, etc. The same technique helps protect personal space in public transport - stand on the handrail and they will not be able to snuggle up to you.
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If you know that a person is inclined to violate the personal space of interlocutors, be brief in communicating with him. Some people invade the intimate zone of others in order to unbalance, confuse, provoke a conflict. Communication with such unceremonious personalities is best avoided, but if this is not possible, self-hypnosis will help you. Learn to mentally create a cocoon around yourself, transparent, but completely impenetrable. And use this skill in situations when someone threatens your personal space.