Subtle turning away or closing of a circle that leaves a person outside the group.
As a newcomer approaches, the shoulders of the circle close and no gap opens. The group tightens without a word, quietly signalling that the moment is not a welcoming one.
Read a closed circle and turned backs as a sign that the group is not yet welcoming. Whether a gap opens for an approaching person tells you how open the group really is.
People may simply be unaware of the newcomer, so the signal is not always deliberate. A circle absorbed in talk may fail to open out of distraction rather than rejection.
The way the most influential person in a group tends to claim central or commanding space.
ExploreThe tendency of people who agree or feel close to gather physically together.
ExploreThe unconscious matching of posture and movement among members of a cohesive group.
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