Spatial Communication is a very broad aspect of nonverbal communication.

It is especially
important because of how big a role it plays in everyday communication without people realizing it.
Edward T. Hall pioneered the study of spatial communication way back in the early 1960's. He called the
study of spatial communication proxemics. Proxemics is defined by Merriam-Webster as the study of
the nature, degree, and effect of the spatial separation individuals naturally maintain (as in various social
and interpersonal situations) and of how this separation relates to environmental and cultural factors
Proxemics is further subdivided into two broad categories: Proxemic Distances, and
Territoriality. There are four main proxemic distances each with very defined measurable spaces.
Intimate Distance ranges from physical contact to eighteen inches apart. Relationships that fall into this
zone of spatial communication are usually very confidential and people tend to have a very high comfort
level with this person. Examples would range from hugging close friends and family, to intimate
relationships with significant others. Because of the unique state of closeness, it is the norm that displays
of this type of relationships in public are not considered proper.
Personal Distance is the next zone outside of Intimate distances with an accepted range of
eighteen inches to four feet. This can constitute the personal bubble that is often mentioned in society. It
gives the person a sense of security and protection while allowing others to come within the outer limits
of this bubble via extension of your arms. A good example of one displaying personal distances would be
while visiting extended family, or in-laws. You have a certain comfort level around them, but not as
intimate as your immediate family, close friends, or significant others.
Social distance ranges from four to twelve feet. Because of the relative size of this zone, social
distances can incorporate a wide variety of social settings. Social distances are used for meeting new
people, business transactions, students at school, and can vary from person to person. Some will require
more distance than others and they will communicate that non-verbally. Generally people do not engage
in any form of physical contact at this distance.
Last, but certainly not least, Public distance is the ranges that aren't defined in the previous three.

At this distance one will insulated from anything one deemed to be threatening. As the name of this zone
implies, it is used most often in public, where you lose the finer details that go along with the other
ranges, but you offer yourself more protection. eople watching the activity of sitting in public and
watching people go by, sometimes can produce a very secure feeling.

Proxemics regulates nonverbal communication through distance. An excerpt from from the
University of New Mexico gives a great example of how proxemics complements, contradicts, and
regulates our verbal communication. 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
pursues you across the floor trying to maintain his. Finally, you would come away from the encounter
thinking he was ushy and he thinking you were tandoff-ish..
This also ties into how other cultures use proxemics differently. During junior high school I was

taking Spanish, and my teacher had lived in Mexico for over a decade. One day she was explaining the
cultural differences between living in Mexico and back here in the United States. She had to relearn the
social and personal differences because they were so drastically different. Often she would find the
person she was speaking to backing up while she was moving closer, and she realized finally that
culturally, in Mexico they are louder and much more in each others faces. My teacher attributed this to
the fact that families are bigger and a lot more family focused because of a strong Catholic religious
background. Another great example at the opposite end of the spectrum comes again from the
University of New Mexico, If, on the other hand, if 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.
While proxemics plays a big role and varies greatly from culture to culture, there is also
correlations between how genders use distances and nonverbal communication differently. The following
are the results of a survey conducted by Gregorio Billikopf in 2009 on Gender and Culture
Communication Differences. oth men and women report a keen awareness of whether they touch
others when they speak. Even so, men, in contrast to women, seem to be more cognizant of their
touching behavior. Both men and women also report an acute awareness of whether they have been
touchedby another when they speak. Men seem slightly more cognizant than women about being
touched. Europeans/Caucasians are the most likely to notice they were touched, followed by mixed
ethnicity populations and Hispanics. Native populations and Middle Easterners were the least likely to
notice they were touched.
Neither men nor women report that women invade their personal space very frequently. Men are
a bit less likely (in contrast to women) to feel that a woman has invaded his personal space. Also, neither
men nor women report that men invade their personal space very frequently. Men are more likely than
women to feel that a man has invaded his personal space, however. Both men and women feel that men
invade their personal space more frequently than women do.

At the one extreme, Hispanics (followed by Europeans/Caucasians) are least likely to feel that
women invade their personal space. At the other extreme, Middle Easterners (followed by
Africans/Blacks) are the most likely to feel women invade their personal space.
Men generally report that women touch them more than they touch women in friendly
conversation. Women confirm this observation by stating that they touch men more than men touch
them. The literature endorses these results (Knapp & Hall, 2010; Wood, 2011). Studies show that
women tend to touch in a more affiliative manner while men tend to use touch as an expression of power
(Wood, 2011).

Proxemics is a very encompassing aspect of Spatial Communication and one that often goes
unnoticed consciously. It is a critical area of study and one that has helped to further humanity as we
learn to communicate with all groups and cultures throughout the world.