nonverbal communications - personal.

   The use of nonverbal messages within communication often involves cultural influence. Depending on where you live around the world, nonverbal messages can vary because of personal space. Within the United States, personal space is regarded highly among its citizens. In the States, we like to create what many call a "personal bubble." This personal bubble is considered the 1.5 to 4 feet of personal space around us that we like to keep for ourselves. In contrast to the States, many European countries are more accustomed to intimate distance, or the zero to eighteen inches around them. The reason they use zero to eighteen inches is because they are much more intimate with everyday people, while Americans reserve that space for close friends and family. 

Even those these boundaries are different in various countries, they can often be crossed. For instance, in America we have what we call a "close talker," or somebody who invades the personal bubble. When somebody decides to talk very close to my face, my first reaction is to back away. I know this because it happens quite frequently to me because my dad is a close talker. It is really funny because when he gets so close to talk, I back away, and then I get in trouble for "not listening" and walking away. 

It is one thing when a close talker is talking to you, but it also can be fun to watch a close talker from an observing position. Knowing my father is a close talker, it is fun to watch him in certain situations and see how other people react. When we are at my cottage and he is talking to my uncle, they are really close, but my uncle does not back away. This may because my uncle has known my father for many years and is completely comfortable with him being that close. 

When my dad talks to colleagues at a work party, it is a completely different story. Many times when he gets in his employee's face, he or she starts to back away or fidget with his or her hands. 

I think it is fun to think about close talkers in different cultures. Would it be more beneficial for my dad to run an international company where he communicates with Europeans more often? Would they be more open to his tendencies as a close talker?