Courtship Signals – Proxemics – 2

The limits of these four zones can be crossed both in entrance and in exit for a series of reasons. In the woman’s “approach” gesture, she passes from the public zone to the personal zone to put into effect her courtship strategy.

In the case this strategy is successful and therefore the man starts the conversation, after a while, when the “connection” among the two has grown, the woman can move into the potential partner’s intimate zone.

If instead things do not go as hoped, because for instance he is not a very reassuring person, from the personal zone (50-70 centimeters) she have the chance to get out without problems, thing that would be more difficult if she was inside the man’s intimate zone, from 20 or 30 centimeters.

It would surely be less easy to get away from there to avoid possible undesired attentions.This is one of the reasons for which inside the intimate zone can be present only people with which we have a link of friendship or love. Other individuals that would penetrate inside this zone would surely be perceived as “enemies”. Invading another person’s intimate space is a signal of challenge to her or him.

The last affirmation can be used in our favor. One of the methods used for verifying if the other person considers us something more than simple acquaintances, is to deceitfully invade her intimate space.

In case we are conversing, trying to lean out pretending not to have heard what the other person has said, in the case we are seated to a table moving our glass toward her. If the other person doesn't pull back when we move the glass in her direction, it means that she feels at ease in our presence and communicates us to positively accept an increase of the level of intimacy.