new research is adding weight to the understanding of why this works. Drawing comparisons between how humans and primates behave, Harvard professor Amy Cuddy noted that when humans or primates feel powerful, they make their body appear bigger. A primate will raise its arms above its head, for instance. In effect, they become bigger and take up more space.
When people feel nervous before, say, giving a presentation or being interviewed for a job, have you noticed how many shrink in their chairs, curving their spines, or fold their arms, pulling their shoulders forwards and inwards? Nowadays, they also slouch over their phones. In effect, they become smaller.
Cuddy reasoned that if people actually made themselves bigger by adopting a confident, âhigh-powerâ posture, it would affect how they felt. She wrote:
âIn both human and non-human primates, expansive, open postures reflect high power, whereas contractive, closed postures reflect low power. Not only do these postures reflect power, they also produce it. [My emphasis.]â 4
The key is in the last line. Iâll repeat it:
âNot only do these postures reflect power, they also produce it.â
Professor Cuddy invited participants to hold a âpower poseâ for just two minutes and measured levels of cortisol and testosterone in their saliva before and afterwards.
After only two minutes, the saliva samples showed that those who did the power pose had a 25 per cent reduction in cortisol (i.e. less stress) and an 8 per cent increase in testosterone (i.e. more confidence). In people who did weak poses, i.e. poses which made the body seem smaller and weaker, their chemistry went in the opposite direction: they had 15 per cent increases in cortisol (i.e. more stress) and 10 per cent decreases in testosterone (i.e. less confidence). 5
The net effect was:
Power pose produces confidence. Weak pose produces fear.
The experiment showed that the positioning of the body directly affected its chemistry.
It also affected how the participants felt, and you can now understand why â because body posture and chemistry affect emotion. Participants who did the power poses also said they felt powerful and âin chargeâ. When Cuddy and her colleagues invited them to participate in a risk-taking game, they were found to be more confident and less afraid to take risks than the people who did the weak poses.
The participants were each given $2 and invited to roll a dice with 50/50 odds of doubling their money or losing it. Eighty-six per cent of the high-power posers took the risk while only 60 per cent of the low-power posers did. 6 Not only did a two-minute power pose increase the chemistry of confidence, but it translated into more confident behaviour too. And remember, this was simply from being conscious of body language for just two minutes!
If you want to know how to do a power pose, think (or look up) Wonder Woman: upright stance, spine erect, head and eyes forwards, legs shoulder-width apart, shoulders back and hands on hips. It also says, âI am enough ! â
How We Function is Affected by How We Hold Our Body. Fact!
Cuddy went further with the research and in a separate experiment measured how power poses affected volunteers who were about to give a presentation, something which tends to make most people feel nervous. 7 Could a two-minute power pose affect how a person functioned in the real world?
Half of the volunteers did a two-minute power pose before giving a short presentation, while the other half did a weak pose â the kind most people actually do before a presentation, which betrays the fact that theyâre nervous or lacking in confidence. A weak pose is one that makes the body smaller in any way: arms folded, shoulders rounded, body leaning forwards, etc.
Their presentations were assessed by a panel, who also rated fluidity of speaking, vocal tone, hesitation, pauses, mistakes, etc. The panel didnât know
When people feel nervous before, say, giving a presentation or being interviewed for a job, have you noticed how many shrink in their chairs, curving their spines, or fold their arms, pulling their shoulders forwards and inwards? Nowadays, they also slouch over their phones. In effect, they become smaller.
Cuddy reasoned that if people actually made themselves bigger by adopting a confident, âhigh-powerâ posture, it would affect how they felt. She wrote:
âIn both human and non-human primates, expansive, open postures reflect high power, whereas contractive, closed postures reflect low power. Not only do these postures reflect power, they also produce it. [My emphasis.]â 4
The key is in the last line. Iâll repeat it:
âNot only do these postures reflect power, they also produce it.â
Professor Cuddy invited participants to hold a âpower poseâ for just two minutes and measured levels of cortisol and testosterone in their saliva before and afterwards.
After only two minutes, the saliva samples showed that those who did the power pose had a 25 per cent reduction in cortisol (i.e. less stress) and an 8 per cent increase in testosterone (i.e. more confidence). In people who did weak poses, i.e. poses which made the body seem smaller and weaker, their chemistry went in the opposite direction: they had 15 per cent increases in cortisol (i.e. more stress) and 10 per cent decreases in testosterone (i.e. less confidence). 5
The net effect was:
Power pose produces confidence. Weak pose produces fear.
The experiment showed that the positioning of the body directly affected its chemistry.
It also affected how the participants felt, and you can now understand why â because body posture and chemistry affect emotion. Participants who did the power poses also said they felt powerful and âin chargeâ. When Cuddy and her colleagues invited them to participate in a risk-taking game, they were found to be more confident and less afraid to take risks than the people who did the weak poses.
The participants were each given $2 and invited to roll a dice with 50/50 odds of doubling their money or losing it. Eighty-six per cent of the high-power posers took the risk while only 60 per cent of the low-power posers did. 6 Not only did a two-minute power pose increase the chemistry of confidence, but it translated into more confident behaviour too. And remember, this was simply from being conscious of body language for just two minutes!
If you want to know how to do a power pose, think (or look up) Wonder Woman: upright stance, spine erect, head and eyes forwards, legs shoulder-width apart, shoulders back and hands on hips. It also says, âI am enough ! â
How We Function is Affected by How We Hold Our Body. Fact!
Cuddy went further with the research and in a separate experiment measured how power poses affected volunteers who were about to give a presentation, something which tends to make most people feel nervous. 7 Could a two-minute power pose affect how a person functioned in the real world?
Half of the volunteers did a two-minute power pose before giving a short presentation, while the other half did a weak pose â the kind most people actually do before a presentation, which betrays the fact that theyâre nervous or lacking in confidence. A weak pose is one that makes the body smaller in any way: arms folded, shoulders rounded, body leaning forwards, etc.
Their presentations were assessed by a panel, who also rated fluidity of speaking, vocal tone, hesitation, pauses, mistakes, etc. The panel didnât know
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