Page 64 - ConvinceThemFlip

convince them in 90 seconds or less
An unconscious invasion
of someone’s personal
space can trigger a
deep-seated response
and cause real barriers
to go up.
threatening they are. But what we’re not always clear
about is how our body and our feelings alter as people
come closer to us.
Imagine this: A person is moving toward you, pass-
ing from your public space into your social space, then
from your social space into your personal space. He
just keeps coming. Doesn’t your heart beat a little faster
and your awareness of that
person grow? Don’t your
other senses wake up as
your body tries to figure
out what he is about to
do? The ultimate intru-
sion is when an uninvited
guest invades your private
space—that’s when you
may feel an uncontrollable urge to withdraw or to repel
the intruder with physical or verbal reactions.
Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? In a bustling office, your
body probably goes through some or all of this cycle a
dozen times a day without your being fully aware of it.
People are constantly ignoring cues and signals and com-
ing closer than we’d like them to, or wandering too far
away when we need them to hear or see us.
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