PEOPLE

Nonverbal communication: what social distance says about relationships between people

Whenever we interact with people, we also unintentionally send messages through our body language, such as gestures, tone of voice, position of feet, glances, and even the distance we keep from the other person.

In fact, territoriality is instinctive in humans, and we try, even without realizing it, to demarcate our private area. This obviously changes depending on the confidence that exists between two interlocutors. This distance, even seen from the outside, says a lot about the relationship between two people.

But materially, to what distance does a certain type of relationship correspond? The answer lies in Focus, which has attempted to identify the various degrees of the physical distance/confidence relationship.

Freepik
Nonverbal communication: what social distance says about relationships between people
Whenever we interact with people, we also unintentionally send messages through our body language, such as gestures, tone of voice, position of feet, glances, and even the distance we keep from the other person. Indeed, territoriality is instinctive in humans, and we try, even without realising it, to delimit our private area. This obviously changes depending on the confidence that exists between two interlocutors. This distance, even seen from the outside, says a lot about the relationship between two people. But materially, to what distance does a certain type of relationship correspond? Focus, which has attempted to identify the various degrees of the physical distance/confidence relationship, tries to give the answer.
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Intimate distance - 0 to 45 cm
It is the distance we keep with the most important people in our lives. It is typical of relationships such as parents/children, close friends, partners and so on. These relationships are distinguished from others, in addition to the degree of trust that exists between the individuals, precisely because of the physical contact, with which one can smell and feel the warmth of the other.
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Personal distance - 45 cm to 1 meter
This is also a distance we adopt with people we are quite familiar with, but without exaggerating the attitudes we have with our mother or partner. Typical gestures of this social distance are warm handshakes, high-fives, pats on the shoulders. From this distance, glances are frequent and unforced, and in general it shows a certain degree of calmness and constancy in the relationship.
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Social distance - 120 cm to 2 meters
This is the distance in most interpersonal relationships we have throughout the day, such as formal relationships or in the workplace. With this distance we leave the necessary space to interact with kindness and friendliness, but still retain our own private space. At this distance we relate, for example, with shop and supermarket clerks, colleagues, public office employees and the like. Other examples where we keep this distance are job interviews, academic examinations, business negotiations.
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Public distance - 3 meters or more
This is the distance we keep from strangers. When we are looking for a place to have a picnic, or a place to lie down on the beach, these are typical examples of our search for privacy and personal space in relation to people we do not know. At this distance, interpersonal relationships are extremely difficult, so much so that we ignore anyone beyond this radius.
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The distance of tables in the restaurant makes a difference
A perfect example of social distance is seen in restaurants. A study conducted by Cornell University showed how, in restaurants, distances between tables less than 40 cm apart contribute to customers feeling a sense of discomfort, and will therefore tend to leave the place more quickly. On the contrary, spaces of at least one metre between one table and the next invites people to stay, because the ambience feels more intimate.
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