[JoeS21]

Recently, I noticed a few different people, mainly women, sort of smiling, crossing their arms and crossing their legs and sort of backing away when speaking to me. In one scenario, something a little different happened. I was standing close to a female during a discussion and all of the sudden she seemed to panic and step backwards.

I think this behavior is signs of being very uncomfortable and I wonder if I am doing something that I am unaware of that makes people, mainly women, uncomfortable around me. Does this sound familiar to anyone? What might be going on? Don't worry about being personal or possibly insulting. I want to figure out what I am doing wrong.

[Molinit]

How close are you when they start doing this? My first thought is you're getting too close and invading their personal space.

[Erebos]

That sounds a bit like one of my ex's, he had a habit of standing just inside ones personal space.
He did it with everyone Without even realising. But women especially will feel uncomfortable, other men may take it subconsciously as a challenge.Try not to stand square on to people especially if your forced to stand close to them and keep at least 2.5 3feet away.

Also do you stare people in the eyes when you talk to them? Eye contact is great intermittently but if someone is holding eye contact intensely it can be uncomfortable.

Lastly how do you speak to people? Do you keep a soft and even tone with plenty of spaces for interaction, or do you get anxious and maybe let yourself runaway with the conversation, talking at rather than too.

Even if it's none of these things specifically, it does sound like something in your body language that is being misunderstood.

All the best hope your able to sort it out.

[MickeyCheeky]

Like others have said, perhaps it has something to do with your body language.. not sure what, exactly, though :/

[Sunflower123]

Originally Posted by Erebos

That sounds a bit like one of my ex's, he had a habit of standing just inside ones personal space.
He did it with everyone Without even realising. But women especially will feel uncomfortable, other men may take it subconsciously as a challenge.Try not to stand square on to people especially if your forced to stand close to them and keep at least 2.5 3feet away.

Also do you stare people in the eyes when you talk to them? Eye contact is great intermittently but if someone is holding eye contact intensely it can be uncomfortable.

Lastly how do you speak to people? Do you keep a soft and even tone with plenty of spaces for interaction, or do you get anxious and maybe let yourself runaway with the conversation, talking at rather than too.

Even if it's none of these things specifically, it does sound like something in your body language that is being misunderstood.

All the best hope your able to sort it out.

These are some good possibilities. It might be your behavior i.e. Standing too close but I doubt it's you. Good luck going forward.

[~Christina]

Personally if anyone is to close too me I will indeed back away.

But in your case if you dont think that could be the cause then maybe its something else.

Could it be the conversation? or the location? not to offend .. but personal hygiene? Especially dental/ bad breath... That is something that will indeed make back way up for.

What type of people are these ... Coworkers? causal hanging out? what type of situation?

[satsuma]

I think it's likely that you are standing too close to them, from the reactions that you describe here.
Could you try standing further away and giving people some more space, and see if these reactions change?

[Crazy Hitch]

Either you're standing too close or you might want to ask a close friend of yours about body odour ... bad breath etc

I know how it feels.
Personally, I may come off as intimidating in my approaches to women. But deep down I know I mean no harm, so while there can be improvements to make, I tell myself communicating is better than nothing, and so long as my intention is good, I see no reason being hard with myself.

[wolfgaze]

Have you been remembering to wear deodorant?

[GreenBlueRed]

Next time it happens, try backing up just a little and see if they relax.

I remember once talking with a man who needed a big personal space bubble. I couldn't hear him well and when I tried to get closer (like 3 feet) he would back up and act uncomfortable. So I spent the conversation straining to hear him and kept my distance.