How do you guys respond when people make (or pressure you into) uninvited/unwelcome physical contact?
Things like patting you on the arm/shoulder/back while you shake hands hello/goodbye when you didn't motion to do the same, offering a handshake but staying still so it falls on you to close the distance, etc.. Sometimes this is pretty innocuous (e.g. I've got South American classmates who are just touchier by nature), sometimes less so (typically in interactions with other students eyeing political/banking careers). I've been noticing it fairly frequently since I started my Master's (heavy international crowd, more ladder-climbing, etc.).
The invitations side (e.g. handshake thing) seems like a place for communicating with facial expressions and neutral posture since they're basically passive, but I'm drawing blanks on responding when someone actually makes the extra contact instead of just pressuring me towards it. On some level it seems more a sign of them being uncalibrated, but not knowing how to respond probably doesn't do me (or anyone else with this problem) any favors day to day.
Anyone got any advice/experience on this sort of thing?
Things like patting you on the arm/shoulder/back while you shake hands hello/goodbye when you didn't motion to do the same, offering a handshake but staying still so it falls on you to close the distance, etc.. Sometimes this is pretty innocuous (e.g. I've got South American classmates who are just touchier by nature), sometimes less so (typically in interactions with other students eyeing political/banking careers). I've been noticing it fairly frequently since I started my Master's (heavy international crowd, more ladder-climbing, etc.).
The invitations side (e.g. handshake thing) seems like a place for communicating with facial expressions and neutral posture since they're basically passive, but I'm drawing blanks on responding when someone actually makes the extra contact instead of just pressuring me towards it. On some level it seems more a sign of them being uncalibrated, but not knowing how to respond probably doesn't do me (or anyone else with this problem) any favors day to day.
Anyone got any advice/experience on this sort of thing?
