TL;DR
Amy Cuddy explains how body language shapes not only how others see us, but also how we see ourselves. She suggests that ‘power posing’, or standing in a posture of confidence, can boost feelings of power and impact our chances for success in stressful situations like job interviews.
“Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it.”
Amy Cuddy
TALK SUMMARY
In her TED talk, social psychologist Amy Cuddy presents the idea that adopting powerful body postures can not only alter other people’s perceptions but can also lead to internal psychological changes that affect self-perception and confidence levels. These are called ‘power poses’. Cuddy discusses extensive research showing that our body language speaks not only to others but also to ourselves, dictating power dynamics that can influence our success. By standing or sitting in a high-power pose for as little as two minutes, individuals can induce hormonal changes that increase confidence and risk tolerance while reducing stress. Cuddy advocates for ‘faking it till you become it’, encouraging individuals to adopt these postures to improve their presence in stressful situations such as job interviews.
“Our nonverbals govern how other people think and feel about us, and how we think and feel about ourselves.”
Amy Cuddy
KEY MESSAGE
The core message Amy Cuddy conveys is that body language profoundly impacts how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. By adopting confident, powerful poses, individuals can experience a psychological transformation that leads to more confident behavior, potentially changing their life outcomes in significant ways.
“Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.”
Amy Cuddy
INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS
- Power Posing: The practice of standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident, to increase feelings of power and impact outcomes in high-stress situations.
- Hormonal Changes Through Posture: Adopting specific body postures can chemically alter our body by changing levels of testosterone (associated with dominance) and cortisol (associated with stress).
- Body-Mind Connection: The concept that our bodies can signal our brains to feel a certain way, implying that our physical stance can influence our mental state.
- Nonverbal Communication Cues: Understanding how body language influences judgments made about us, such as hirability and likeability in job interviews.
- Internalizing Confidence: The process of ‘faking’ powerful body language until it becomes a genuine part of how we feel and carry ourselves.
“Power is also about how you react to stress.”
Amy Cuddy
IDEAS:
- Subtle physical cues like a handshake or lack thereof can shape perceptions for extended periods, influencing social and professional outcomes.
- Individuals with powerful, expansive body language tend to be more assertive and confident, while those who feel powerless often contract and make themselves smaller.
- People’s nonverbal behaviors can unconsciously influence not only how others perceive them but also how they perceive themselves and their own abilities.
- Nonverbal cues, such as power posing, can be ‘faked’ temporarily to elicit real physiological and psychological changes that encourage more powerful behavior.
- Women and people who feel subordinate tend to exhibit less powerful body language naturally, affecting their participation and success in academics and professional settings.
- Implementing power poses before stressful evaluative situations can alter our body’s hormonal balance, making us more resonant and impactful in such moments.
- ‘Fake it till you become it’ suggests that with enough practice, non-verbal acts of confidence can create a lasting internal sense of power and self-assurance.
- Minor adjustments in our posture can trigger a cascade of internal changes that bolster our ability to handle difficult situations with poise.
- Sharing the science of body language can empower people with limited resources, as power posing only requires privacy and a few minutes to practice.
- Creating a presence during communication isn’t just about the content of speech but also about the self-assurance with which it’s delivered, which can be enhanced through body postures.
FACTS:
- Nonverbal cues like expressions of power and dominance are not limited to humans but are found throughout the animal kingdom.
- Powerful leaders tend to have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol, indicating a link between hormone levels and perceived authority.
- Studies have shown that people can accurately judge a politician’s competence with only a one-second exposure to their facial expressions.
- Social judgments about physicians based on their body language can predict the likelihood of them being sued by patients.
- Small physical cues used strategically, such as emoticons in digital communication, can significantly influence the outcome of online negotiations.
“When you pretend to be powerful, you are more likely to actually feel powerful.”
Amy Cuddy
EMOTIONAL ESSENCE
The talk is empowering and personal. Amy Cuddy shares her own experience with impostor syndrome and her journey to feeling powerful, inspiring listeners to overcome their self-doubt. The idea that one can ‘fake it till they become it’ creates a hopeful narrative that anyone can cultivate a sense of personal power through simple actions.
REFERENCES:
- Nalini Ambady’s Research: Studies on how brief exposures to body language can lead to judgments about people, such as predicting lawsuit rates against physicians.
- Alex Todorov’s Research: Work on how facial expressions of political candidates influence voters, predicting election outcomes based on one-second judgments.
- Jessica Tracy’s Research: Inquiries into the pride expression that is innate and arises when winning physical competitions, even among those blind from birth.
- Dana Carney’s Collaboration: Amy Cuddy’s colleague in power posing research that involved experiments to test the effects of high-power poses on participants.
- Use of Emoticons Study: Research mentioned that indicates the impact of emoticons on the results of online negotiations.
