BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

PROJECT ON

PROXEMICS

PROXEMICS
is a psychological, social-psychological, and anthropological area of study that addresses the use of space in interpersonal communication, usually in regards to the distance between people in conversation . The term was first coined by culturaL anthropologist Stuart T.

Hall in 1963.

Introduction
Proxemics is what brings us together, today. Proxemics comes in two flavors, Physical territory, such as why desks face the front of a classroom rather than towards a center isle, and Personal territory that we carry with us, the "bubble" of space that you keep between yourself and the person ahead of you in a line.

DIAGRAM OF EDWARD T. HALL 'S PERSONAL REACTION BUBBLES (19 66), SHOWING RADIUS IN FEET.

Body spacing and posture, are unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a person's voice. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance,

According to Hall

according to the following delineations:

 Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering Close phase less than 6 inches (15 cm) Far phase 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)

Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members

Close phase 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm) Far phase 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm) Social distance for interactions among acquaintances Close phase 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m) Far phase 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m) Public distance used for public speaking Close phase 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m) Far phase 25 feet (7.6 m) or more.

 Hall notes that different cultures maintain different standards of personal space. In Latin cultures, for instance, those relative distances

are smaller, and people tend to be more comfortable standing close to

each other; in Nordic cultures the opposite is true. Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the interpersonal distance is too large ("stand-offish") or too small (intrusive). Comfortable personal distances also depend on the culture, social situation, gender, and individual preference.

I P L A N T O E X A M I N E T WO A S P E C T S O F P ROX E M I C S A N D T H E I M P O RTA N T RO L E T H E Y C A N P L AY IN OUR INTERPERSONAL C O M M U N I C AT I O N. T H E S E T WO A R E A S A R E T H E USE OF COLOR I N O U R E N V I RO N M E N T, A N D H OW C U LT U R A L D I F F E R E N C E S I N T H E U S E O F PERSONAL TERRITORY C A N M A K E U S F E E L D I S C O M F O RT.

 Let's begin with colors. Colors can have a major impact on our comfort level in a given situation. You would not, for instance, take a business client out to lunch at McDonalds, due at least in part to the bright reds and yellows used in

their color scheme. These colors cause people anxiety and cause them to rather
rush in, consume their food, and rush back out, than stay and chat. A. You would be more likely to take that client to Denny's with its muted color scheme, or better yet to Marie Callender's where you can relax in a homey pastel colored environment. B. Furthermore, studies have shown that bright colors are disturbing not only to restaurant patrons, but also to their employees. Restaurants with brightly colored

interiors such as Taco Bell and McDonalds have the highest employee turnover in
the food service industry.

 Personal territories, however, can vary both culturally and ethnically. Take Saudi Arabia for example, you might find yourself almost nose to nose with a business associate because their social space equates to our intimate space. You would probably find yourself backing away trying to regain your social space while your associate persues you across the floor trying to maintain his. Finally, you would come away from the encounter thinking he was "pushy", and he thinking you were "standoff-ish." If, on the other hand, you were visiting a friend in the Netherlands, you would find the roles reversed, you would be doing the chasing because their personal space equates to our social space.

CONCLUSION
As you can see by the examples I have given, cultural differences and the use of color in our physical environment can have a great impact upon our interactions with others. But these are only two of more than twenty major aspects of

proxemics such as eye-contact, facial expression, smells, body warmth, gender,

number of people involved, subject matter, and goals of the communication, for which we continuously and automatically adjust our use of space. In conclusion, it is my hope that I have made you more aware of the ways in which proxemics can affect the success of our interpersonal communication.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.google.com www.wikipedia.com Communication skills: sanjay kumar, pushpa lata. OUP

THANK YOU
From Akash Jindal (IMBA/4591/11) {jinankur@gmail.com} Ranjan Kumar (IMBA/4592/11) {ranjan.wants@gmail.com} Sapna Jha (IMBA/4543/11) {sapscoolsapna@gmail.com}