Nonverbal Experiment

For our second project in the class (which was to break a nonverbal norm), I decieded that I would stand close to people in a relativlty empty elevator.

Here is what I learned by doing this experiment:

Introduction:
Nonverbal communication. It is the only type of communication that people speak at all times of the day. Nonverbal communication is defined as “the way we express ourselves, not only by what we say but rather by what we do.” There are different ways we communication nonverbally: Body movement (body orientation, gestures, face and eyes), voice, touch, appearance (physical attractiveness, & clothing), physical space (distance & territoriality), physical environment and time all contribute to nonverbal communication. For this experiment, I will focus more on physical space and how people feel when you invade their “personal bubble”. There are four different kinds of “bubbles” that people are accustomed to: Intimate distance (reserved for people who are emotionally close to us and mostly in private areas), personal distance (ranges from 18 inches for it’s closest point and 4 feet at its farthest), social distance (ranges from 4 to about 12 feet, for business its 4 to 7 feet), and public distance (ranges 25 feet and beyond). Since this experiment took place in an elevator, it was personal space that I mostly violated.

Experiment:
For this experiment, I spent some time at two places, one in a not so busy area and one in a busier area. I ended up going to the Mall of America in Bloomington (on a Wednesday afternoon) and the 5th Street Garage Transit Center in Downtown Minneapolis (on a Saturday evening). During this experiment, I was looking for the following: facial reactions, sudden body movements, and getting a sense of nervousness.


Mall of America - Bloomington
To receive the best results I needed to find a time where the popular spot would not be so busy. I narrowed the timing down and found that the best time was on a weekday in the early part of the afternoon. I found that there isn’t a lot of activity at that time and not a lot of families are there.
I started on the forth floor of the complex, where the new comedy club is being put in and near Cantina’s #1 (or in another words, the elevator closest to the rotunda). I was there on one afternoon, “shopping” for myself, when I went into the elevator. (Since this was a public place with security, I made sure that I wasn’t trying this on high schoolers). I was, at the time, wearing normal street clothes (jeans, sweatshirt, and a winter jacket since it was cold out from the previous evening’s snow storm) and sunglasses (yes I had them on), looking like a normal person. I noticed there were two girls, who looked to be in their 20s, getting on the elevator from the east parking ramp. As soon as the elevator started to move, that is when I approached them. We all got on the elevator without them noticing me. As soon as the elevator started to move, that is when the fun began.
The first thing I noticed after I stepped towards them was they got very uncomfortable right away. The girls were having a conversation about something and stopped right away, focusing their attention to me. They went from very calm to being nervous in a flash of a second, not to mention a dirty look. I looked at them and said “Hi. How are you girls this afternoon?” One said fine and the other didn’t answer.
Personally, I thought being someone who is near these girls’ age group; they would have reacted differently, such as being more open and understanding. My thinking after they got off the elevator a couple floors down and during my train ride to work, they must of thought that I was coming on to them, looking for a date or possibly a sexual encounter with them. They might have been curious to what I was doing in the first place. I’m sure that they had an interesting conversation about it after we went our separate ways.

5th Street Garage Transit Center – Minneapolis
A few days, later I tried the same thing but in a different location on a different day but I had a different approach. To get the best results, on a recent Saturday evening, I traveled to the 5th Street Garage Transit Center in Downtown Minneapolis, near the location of the new Target Field. I figured this would be a perfect evening to try this experiment. I was right; the weather was just perfect. Sunny skies, temperatures in the 50s, couldn’t ask for better clubbing weather. Plus it was Spring Break for most students so that helped big time.
This experiment I had to do later in the evening, between 9 and 10:00 is peak time since that is when the party is just getting started. Let me first describe what I wore to this event: casual clothes (jeans, button down shirt), casual shoes, my leather jacket and some cologne I stole from my father.
After some time of sitting & waiting, I noticed a group of girls (a small group consisting of 3 girls) heading towards the elevator from the skyway system to street level. My best guess is they were coming from dinner, or a Timberwolves game, since the clubs are not connected by the skyway system. They went in first, and then I went in afterwards. I immediately start to get closer to them. However, without moving too much closer than my original position, the girls started to look and smile at me. They asked me what type of cologne I was wearing, where I was going, who I was meeting up with, est. We made small talk through out the ride and walked together towards the club they were heading to. After we got our IDs checked and had a drink, I told them I had to go, much to their dismay. I didn’t tell either group that this was just an experiment.

Conclusion
During the course of Spring Break, I thought and thought more about nonverbal communication and how it affects others. It mainly depends in the situation that you’re in during the current time. When going out shopping, that’s what your mind is set to: hanging out with your friends and having a fun time without the “creepiness” of other people. When going out for the evening, this is mainly expected: going out, looking your best and meeting new people, even if that wasn’t your main purpose for going out.
It doesn’t matter who it is, what background you have, whether you’re male or female, white or black, or whatever, the point is to make sure when you are around others, you got to make sure he/she is comfortable around you. Each and every one of us has insecurities in our lives. One of them (and possibly the biggest one) is when people invade our personal turf. How you define “personal turf” is up to you. As long as you are sending the right signals to people, even though you are not verbally communicating, anyone can pick up on that, and will determine whether or not you’ll be able to have the relationship with people you rightfully deserve.