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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 3:28:38 am

The Space That Speaks

Some people step too close without realising it. Others recoil the moment we enter their personal space. In boardrooms, cafeterias, client meetings or even casual workplace conversations, the invisible boundary between comfort and discomfort is crossed more often than we admit. And every time it happens, something subtle but significant shifts. A colleague feels disrespected. A client feels pushed. A partner silently withdraws. Space may be unseen, but its consequences are very real —...

The Space That Speaks

Some people step too close without realising it. Others recoil the moment we enter their personal space. In boardrooms, cafeterias, client meetings or even casual workplace conversations, the invisible boundary between comfort and discomfort is crossed more often than we admit. And every time it happens, something subtle but significant shifts. A colleague feels disrespected. A client feels pushed. A partner silently withdraws. Space may be unseen, but its consequences are very real — especially in today’s workplace, where one misread signal can erode trust faster than any spoken mistake.   A few months ago, a mid-sized consulting firm approached me with a puzzling problem. Their young team was technically brilliant, but client retention had dropped sharply. After observing a few interactions, the issue became obvious: enthusiastic associates were unknowingly leaning too close, interrupting personal bubbles, and making global clients uncomfortable. Nothing was ill-intentioned — just unaware. Yet that small behavioural gap had created a Rs 1.6 crore revenue leakage over the year. Once we worked on spatial awareness, presence and non-verbal communication, the same team rebuilt client confidence and closed three major renewals within a quarter.   This is why personal space is not a “soft” concept. It is strategy. It is reputation. It is a non-negotiable part of personal branding.   When people think of personal branding, they imagine polished LinkedIn profiles or impressive introductions. But the truth is simpler and deeper: your personal brand is your behaviour. It’s the distance you maintain, the respect you signal, the safety you create for others in a conversation. Space is communication — silent but powerful. When you don’t understand where your boundary ends and where someone else’s begins, your interactions unintentionally send the message that you lack awareness, sensitivity or professionalism. For a leader, this can appear as dominance. For a young executive, it can appear as insecurity or over-eagerness. For a business owner, it can cost trust and business.   Modern workplaces are more global and more culturally diverse than ever before. In India alone, teams now collaborate daily with counterparts from the UK, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the US — each with very different expectations of proximity. What feels friendly to one culture feels intrusive to another. When employees are not trained to navigate these subtle differences, the company brand is what ultimately suffers.   And here’s the truth companies often overlook: you cannot build a strong organisational brand without strong individual brands inside it. When employees understand boundaries — emotional, verbal and physical — they communicate with clarity, empathy and confidence. They carry themselves with the ease that clients trust. They handle negotiations better. They build relationships faster. They close deals without friction. The company’s culture becomes more respectful, more refined and more reliable.   I’ve seen it repeatedly while working with founders, leadership teams and fast-growing organisations: the fastest way to elevate a company’s external image is to elevate the personal brand of the people representing it. Not through scripted behaviour but through awareness — especially in the small, often ignored details like space, body language and non-verbal cues.   These details decide whether your teams come across as polished or unprepared, mindful or careless, leadership-ready or still learning.   If any of this feels familiar — a slightly awkward handshake, a colleague who stands too close, a new executive who unintentionally intimidates a client — it’s more than a social inconvenience. It’s a branding issue. And one that’s entirely fixable.   Because when people feel respected in your presence, they trust you. When they trust you, they listen. And when they listen, they say yes more often — to ideas, partnerships, renewals and opportunities.   If you’re a business leader who wants your teams to communicate with maturity, presence and global sensitivity, you can reach out for a complimentary consultation call here : https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani Strong personal brands build strong company brands. And it all begins with something as simple, as silent and as powerful as space. (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

Dangerous Departures

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Dangerous Departures

In yet another shocking incident adding to Mumbai’s infamous tryst with stampedes, chaos erupted at Mumbai’s Bandra Terminus following a weekend stampede that left at least ten persons injured, two critically so. A crowd surged toward the Gorakhpur-bound train with nearly 1,500 people vying for seats in 22 unreserved compartments, leading to the stampede. Several others narrowly avoided tragedy, with some even pushed onto the tracks. This is not a unique episode but rather a recurring theme in Mumbai’s bedevilled crowd management, one that has haunted the city’s public spaces, particularly as festive seasons magnify the crowds.


Mumbai is no stranger to stampedes. A horrifying incident in 2017 at Elphinstone Road Station left 23 people dead and nearly 50 injured. The cause was a familiar one: an overwhelming crowd confined to a narrow footbridge during peak rush hour. The tragedy sparked an outcry, with promises from authorities to upgrade infrastructure and enhance safety protocols. Yet seven years on, crowd-related incidents continue to be a constant danger. Today’s incident reveals a similar lapse—a lack of foresight in managing the thousands who gather on platforms ahead of Diwali, eager to return to family. That the Gorakhpur Express was unreserved and heavily crowded was predictable.


The issue lies beyond simply crowd density; it is emblematic of deeper systemic negligence. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), responsible for local public safety, along with the Railways Ministry, bear responsibility for ensuring order at such high-risk hubs. Although the BMC acknowledged the “festive rush,” it appears little was done to pre-empt it. Swift action could have been taken to either disperse the crowd or reroute passengers. Instead, chaos prevailed.


Political reaction has been swift but uninspiring. Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray, launched a scathing attack on the Union Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, branding the incident a result of the minister’s “incapable” leadership. This hardly addresses the immediate need: a substantive plan to manage crowds and prevent similar incidents.


Mumbai’s transport infrastructure remains sorely outdated. Platforms are undersized, signalling systems frequently falter, and crowd control mechanisms are grossly inadequate. Despite repeated accidents, there has been little investment in comprehensive crowd management systems or the deployment of personnel trained in emergency response. While railway footbridges were widened after the Elphinstone tragedy, Bandra’s incident demonstrates that such incremental changes are insufficient. Mumbai, which sees a swelling populace during festivals, demands a robust strategy to address its vulnerabilities. This should include technology-driven crowd monitoring, clear communication channels to inform passengers of platform conditions, and additional security and medical staff on high-demand days. It is essential that crowd management training for personnel becomes a priority rather than a reaction to tragedies.

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