TED: Amy Cuddy: You body language shapes who you are

She speaks about POWER POSING. It's trying to take up as much space as possible with your body in order to change how you look and most importantly, how you feel in stressful, uncomfortable situations. She mentions that body language is crucial when it comes to communicating and connecting with others. Science proves that words make up only for 7% of your message, whereas 93% is body language, voice tone, etc.
But what she came up with in her analysis is that the posture of your body, your physiology will influence how you feel and how you look as a consequence. We obviously know that feeling negative emotions takes a toll on our physical health and how we feel overally. But she argues that it also works in the opposite way. Your posture shapes your feelings which leads to others' perceiving you in a certain way. For example, if you usually slouch, you also usually feel powerless, tired, uncomfortable, nonexistent, unworthy, not sure of yourself. It's because you don't take enough space. You don't stand in an open position. She says that if you are able to straighten your back, you'll be able to feel stronger and more confident. People who walk straight feel better about themselves and project power which is visible to other individuals. Win-win! Your body shapes your mind.
She encourages people to adopt high-power poses - taking up space - standing like the Wonder Woman, stretching your arms, extending your limbs for 2 minutes before a job interview or a presentation. She has tested it in a lab and found that people who did this exercise for 2 minutes had their hormones' levels changed and became more assertive, feeling powerful, etc. I also tested it during a class presentation last week, and I actually felt so much better when presenting! So next time you have to face a social threat, don't kill time by sitting with your Iphone, go to the bathroom and power-pose!

Aleksandra Blaszczak wrote:She speaks about POWER POSING. It's trying to take up as much space as possible with your body in order to change how you look and most importantly, how you feel in stressful, uncomfortable situations. She mentions that body language is crucial when it comes to communicating and connecting with others. Science proves that words make up only for 7% of your message, whereas 93% is body language, voice tone, etc.
But what she came up with in her analysis is that the posture of your body, your physiology will influence how you feel and how you look as a consequence. We obviously know that feeling negative emotions takes a toll on our physical health and how we feel overally. But she argues that it also works in the opposite way. Your posture shapes your feelings which leads to others' perceiving you in a certain way. For example, if you usually slouch, you also usually feel powerless, tired, uncomfortable, nonexistent, unworthy, not sure of yourself. It's because you don't take enough space. You don't stand in an open position. She says that if you are able to straighten your back, you'll be able to feel stronger and more confident. People who walk straight feel better about themselves and project power which is visible to other individuals. Win-win! Your body shapes your mind.
She encourages people to adopt high-power poses - taking up space - standing like the Wonder Woman, stretching your arms, extending your limbs for 2 minutes before a job interview or a presentation. She has tested it in a lab and found that people who did this exercise for 2 minutes had their hormones' levels changed and became more assertive, feeling powerful, etc. I also tested it during a class presentation last week, and I actually felt so much better when presenting! So next time you have to face a social threat, don't kill time by sitting with your Iphone, go to the bathroom and power-pose!

I heartily agree with the points she makes on body posture. simply raising your shoulders has an effect on how you are perceived. I find it hard to believe that words only carry 7% of your message though. If I try to follow a talk in a foreign language, it shows me that words are far more important to the message than 7%.