Non Verbal Communication Project

For our groups non-verbal communication project we chose sitting too close to someone at lunch. This was a pretty interesting topic, and harder than it sounded to carry out. In order to do this experiment, I had to violate a non-verbal social communication norm I had followed my entire life. I don't sit really close to a random co-worker when eating dinner because people like their personal space and I don't want to "pop anyone's bubble" so to speak.
I work at a trailer dealership during the day and chose to do my experiment there. We have a small lunch room and a small table, adequate for a person on each side of the square table. I decided to use Tim as my victim, a middle-aged married, very nice man. While he was eating his subway, I took my chair and slid it close to him, on the same side of the table where two people obviously did not fit. He looked up from his sandwhich a little awkwardly, but did not say anything. He then slid his chair over slightly, trying to make more room for me and leaning away. I was definately creating a more intimate or personal space rather than a social space as described in our text. Tim never said anything, but judging his body language he was clearly uncomfortable.
I also work in a restaraunt at night and did some smaller, less obvious experiments there. I work Monday nights and they are always very slow and boring. The dining room stays pretty empty and customers usually choose tables farther away from each other in order to gain some distance from others and more privacy. I tried seating customers at tables right next to each other, but nearly everytime they would request to be moved somewhere else, somewhere more "private" or where they wouldn't be able to hear other people's conversations or be too close. We don't always realize it, but our non-verbal communication is a huge part of our lives.