Social psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy made waves back in 2012 with her TED Talk “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.”
Her premise? The connection between your brain and your body is a two way street. Sure, your brain sends messages to your body, but your body can also send messages to your brain.
By striking a dominant pose, your body tells your brain that you are, in fact, dominant. Do this enough, and your brain will start to believe it over time.
Check out the talk to find out how this works and hear Cuddy’s inspiring story.
And to learn more about how to build a powerful presence, check out Cuddy’s book Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges.
UPDATE:
Interestingly, after Cuddy’s TED Talk made waves, power posing became a big deal. But when other scientists tried to replicate the results in a lab, they couldn’t.
This lack of evidence was enough to lead one of Cuddy’s collaborators to declare that power posing was dead entirely.
But not so fast, Psychology writer Oliver Burkeman wrote recently in the Guardian. He says whether or not power posing works in the lab, it definitely works for him – and he intends to keep right on doing it. (And personally I’m right there with him.)
Check out this great summary of the power posing debate from The Science of Us for more details, then decide for yourself whether or not you want to stand strong. And let me know in the comments below!
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