Week 4 Tute: Proxemics

Week 4, Hall's distance zones, measured against your own diagnosis space

15 March 2027

Edward Hall’s proxemics splits interpersonal distance into four zones (intimate, personal, social and public), and the zone people default to says more about the relationship than either person would say out loud. Two colleagues who like each other will still hold a tighter social-zone distance than two colleagues who don’t, without either one measuring anything; watching people unconsciously negotiate these distances is one of the fastest ways to read a room’s actual social structure, faster than anything either person would tell you if you asked.

Before the session#

In the same space you’ve been using for your diagnosis (or a similar one), measure or estimate the distances people keep from each other across at least three different relationship types: strangers, colleagues, close friends or family. Note which zone each pairing sits in.

In the session#

We map the results against Hall’s zones and talk through the diagnosis assessment, due this week: what makes a diagnosis specific rather than a restatement of “personal space is a thing.”

Afterwards#

Submit your diagnosis by the deadline on the assessment page.