I have a friend who is as close-talker. God bless her, she's a nice girl, but I end up halfway up a wall or perched over furniture every time I talk to her. I think Seinfeld probably covered this topic better than I ever could. Man, I miss that show. Anyway, back to my friend- I don't see how she could possibly not notice the acrobats I am doing to get a little breathing room, but she doesn't. Since she's my friend, it doesn't make me too crazy, and I can forgive her. But, let me tell you, if a stranger happens to invade my personal space, like last night at the grocery store, it freaks me out. This lady was all but surgically attached to me for twenty minutes... AAAHHH!
Robert Sommer, did a study of how people react when someone invades their personal space. He would go to parks and sit too close to people on purpose. He said some responses would be tapping their toes, pulling at their hair, and getting completely rigid. Well, those people were pretty nice about it, I think. If you see me pulling my hair, you better move on because it gets real ugly after that!
If you happen to BE a close stander, please, read this. It's a problem, people. Let's get the solution out there!
Posted by Shannon at June 26, 2003 08:53 AM